SINGAPORE - At a family gathering at a restaurant in Resorts World Sentosa, Shae Toh Hock told his sister and her husband about an impeding takeover of an Australian paint company by Nippon Paint Holdings.

Shae, a senior vice-president at one of Nippon’s subsidiaries, knew that Nippon would likely acquire DuluxGroup and that it would likely make an offer with a premium of around 30 per cent over Dulux’s existing share price.

Following the conversation, Shae’s sister and her husband bought Dulux shares before the acquisition and made a profit of $75,000 following it.

The trio pleaded guilty on Friday to an insider trading charge each and Shae, 62, was fined $100,000, while his sister Shae Hung Yee, 59, and her husband Siew Boon Liong, 63, were each fined $150,000 each.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Edwin Soh said Shae Toh Hock was the senior vice-president of corporate plans and development at Nipsea Management Company, and his role included overseeing merger and acquisition matters for Nippon.

Having been tasked with conducting due diligence on Dulux before the acquisition, Shae Toh Hock’s team shared a report with Nipsea’s chief executive on March 20, 2019, which assessed Dulux’s business positively.

Despite having signed a letter of confidentiality barring him from disclosing the existence of the acquisition to any third party, Shea told his sister and brother-in-law about Nippon’s interest in acquiring Dulux during a gathering on April 7, 2019.

He added that his due diligence...