Hedge fund boss Steve Cohen ends legal battle

Hedge fund chief Steve Cohen has put to bed his legal battles by settling the last remaining insider-trading lawsuit tied to his old firm SAC Capital.

SAC and Cohen will pay $135 million (£108 million) to a shareholder group that alleges it lost money on Irish drug company Elan.

SAC employee Mathew Martoma used inside information on a failed drug trial to make money offloading the firm’s stake in Elan.

The investors, who owned shares in US-listed Elan, alleged they were left out of pocket by the trades but have agreed to settle before a hearing begins. SAC and Cohen deny all wrongdoing.

Martoma is serving a nine-year prison sentence. Cohen, said to be the inspiration for the character played by Damien Lewis in Billions, now has a London firm, Point72, with 70 staff.

Cohen was last year banned from running money for investors until 2018 to settle charges he failed to supervise Martoma.