German finance watchdog Bafin investigates potential insider trading at Osram

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's financial markets watchdog Bafin is investigating potential insider trading in Osram <OSRn.DE> shares prior to a statement of the German lighting group a year ago, it said on Tuesday.

Osram said on July 3 2019 that its supervisory board was to discuss a takeover offer from private equity firms Bain and Carlyle <CG.O>.

"We are investigating whether there has been insider trading in Osram stock prior to the July 3, 2019 announcement," a Bafin spokeswoman said.

Osram and AMS did not immediately have a comment on the investigation.

The disclosure of the investigation comes a day after the European Commission cleared Osram's takeover by Austrian sensor maker AMS <AMS.S>.

The much smaller Apple <AAPL.O> supplier had trumped the Bain and Carlyle offer and agreed to pay 4.6 billion euros ($5.2 billion) to form a European leader in sensors and lights.

AMS itself faces probes linked to suspicious share transactions in connection with the takeover by Austria's financial markets watchdog FMA and the prosecutor's office against corruption.

(Reporting by Hans Seidenstuecker, writing by Kirsti Knolle; editing by Riham Alkousaa and Louise Heavens)