SEC Charges Former Arista Networks Chairman Andy Bechtolsheim with Insider Trading

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced insider trading charges against Andreas “Andy” Bechtolsheim, the founder and Chief Architect of Silicon Valley-based technology company Arista Networks, Inc. To settle the SEC’s charges, Bechtolsheim agreed to pay a civil penalty of nearly $1 million. According to the SEC’s complaint, Bechtolsheim misappropriated material nonpublic information regarding the impending acquisition of Acacia Communications, Inc., a manufacturer of highspeed optical interconnect products. The SEC alleges that Bechtolsheim, who was Arista Networks’s chair at the time, learned of Acacia’s impending acquisition on July 8, 2019, through his and Arista Networks’s longstanding relationship with another multinational technology company that was also considering acquiring Acacia and consulted with Bechtolsheim concerning the potential acquisition.