Diller fined almost half million over Coca-Cola stock

Billionaire Barry Diller will pay $480,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations over Coca-Cola stock reporting.

The agency said the media mogul failed several times to report the acquisition of hundreds of thousands of Coca-Cola voting securities between late 2010 and spring 2012. Diller is required to report the acquisitions under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act because he acquired 120,000 shares of Coca-Cola in 2010, which triggered the reporting threshold for holdings of more than $63.4 million.

He has since bought an additional 869,000 of Coca-Cola voting securities.

Explore» Coke moving 2,000 workers to downtown Atlanta

The FTC said the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act “requires that parties notify the FTC and the Department of Justice of most large transactions that affect commerce in the United States. After doing so, parties must observe a waiting period before closing their transaction, while one of the two agencies determines whether the transaction may result in a substantial lessening of competition.”

The DOJ filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in D.C. on Tuesday.

Diller is the former chairman of Fox Inc. and Paramount Studios and member of Atlanta-based Coca-Cola’s board of directors.

About the Author

Atlanta air traffic controllers turning to DoorDash, Uber to make ends meet

Members of the air traffic controllers union are distributing leaflets about the shutdown’s effects at nearly two dozen airports to raise awareness, including Atlanta.

See video police say shows ex-PSC candidate Durand taking Georgia Power secrets

Patty Durand has long criticized Georgia Power for concealing information under the cloak of trade secret about various initiatives and requests of state regulators.