A CHINESE optical physicist, who did consulting work for two Chinese private equity firms, has agreed to pay nearly US$757,000 to settle U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) insider trading charges over a proposed buyout of a Silicon Valley firm.

    Ma Guolin was accused of buying 39,373 shares of OmniVision Technologies Inc. in the spring of 2014 based on confidential information he learned from the two firms, as they pursued a takeover of the Santa Clara, California-based maker of optical semiconductor devices used in mobile phones and webcams.

    OmniVision shares rose 15 percent after the Aug. 14, 2014, announcement of a proposed buyout by an investor group including one of the firms, Hua Capital Management Ltd., and Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co.

    The SEC said Friday that Ma generated US$367,387 in unrealized profit on his OmniVision stake following the announcement.

    Without admitting wrongdoing, Ma agreed to forfeit that sum and pay a fine in the same amount, plus US$21,986 in interest, the SEC said. (SD-Agencies)