The SEC obtained a court-imposed Temporary Restraining Order freezing assets and trading proceeds of certain unknown purchasers of Global Industries securities.  The Unknown Purchasers allegedly engaged in illegal insider trading in the days preceding the 9/12/11 public announcement that Technip SA, a French company, and Global Industries, Ltd. agreed to Technip's offer to acquire all outstanding common stock of Global for $8.00 per share - a 55% premium. SEC Allegations of Findings. It's alleged that on 9/8/11 and 9/9/11, Unknown Purchasers bought some 685,840 shares of Global common stock through an omnibus account in the name of Raiffeisen Bank International AG Vienna, Austria, at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., at share prices ranging from $5.14 to $5.39.  These purchases accounted for 8.6% and 11.9%, respectively, of the total volume of Global trading on each of those days. On the next trading day, 9/12, before the U.S. markets opened, the public announcement of the Global buy-out was made.  Global shares then opened at $7.77 and that day the Unknown Purchasers sold all 685,840 shares of Global at prices ranging from $7.77 to $7.80 per share.  Realized profits amounted to $1.7 million. The SEC alleges the trades were based on material insider information and the SEC will seek disgorgement of all illegal profits and imposition of civil money penalties. In issuing the Temporary Restraining Order, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York requires the Unknown Purchasers to identify themselves, is imposing an expedited discovery schedule, and prohibiting the defendants from destroying documents.  FINRA's Office of Fraud Detection and Market Intelligence assisted in the investigation. [SEC Litigation Release 22099, 9/19/11]