Options Trading in Heinz Prior to Berkshire’s Acquisition

I am quoted in a Bloomberg article (February 28) on the suspicious trading in Heinz call options one day before Berkshire Hathaway announced its planned acquisition of Heinz at a 20% premium to the previous day’s closing price:

Options trading often surges for legitimate reasons, such as when a trader speculates on an event, according to David Kass, a professor at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

‘Highly Leveraged’

“It’s highly leveraged, so a small amount of money can give you a very high percentage rate of return,” Kass said in a Feb. 19 phone interview from College Park, Maryland. “Volume activity in options can pick up on rumors and speculation. Sometimes those rumors turn out to be true and sometimes not.”

The entire article is available at:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-28/buffett-betrayed-by-calls-shows-nobody-safe-from-leaks.html