Former SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum has been convicted of insider trading, prior to PepsiCo's acquisition of the Israeli home carbonated drinks company, after pleading guilty in a plea bargain deal.
The court has approved the deal between Birnbaum and the state attorney and sentenced him to 60 days prison, an extra five months suspended sentence and a fine of NIS 50,000. In setting the fine, Tel Aviv District Court Judge took into account Birnbaum's commitment to donate a similar amount to the war effort. In sentencing the judge also mentioned Birnbaum's assistance to the public and soldiers during the war so far.
In 2018, SodaStream was sold to PepsiCo for $3.2 billion. Birnbaum, who became CEO in 2007 after the company was acquired by the Fortissimo private equity fund, was convicted of offenses in 2017 and 2018 when he gave information to Ayala Cohen, a former close associate at the company.
Cohen was told about business developments including an upcoming positive financial report and expressed interest in buying shares to benefit from the information provided to her by Birnbaum about the company and its dealings. Birnbaum tried to dissuade Cohen from buying shares and warned her he might get into trouble on the matter. Birnbaum said he had revealed the information when under the influence of alcohol.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 23, 2023.
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