The ruling restricts trading by stockholders who own 4.75 percent of WaMu common stock, 4.5 percent of its Series R preferred stock, or 4.75 percent of any other series of the company's preferred stock, or those who after a transaction would fall into any of those categories.
Judge Mary Walrath, hearing the case in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, entered the order.
WaMu requested the trading restrictions to preserve billions of dollars in tax benefits stemming from its collapse.
WaMu, the holding company for Washington Mutual Bank, filed for bankruptcy protection in September after the bank was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp and sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co for $1.9 billion.
The trading restrictions require the company's substantial equityholders to file the extent of their holdings with the court and notify the court and the company about trading plans that would affect its substantial equityholder status 20 days in advance. The order affects trades made on or after Oct. 24.
(Reporting by Emily Chasan; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Keywords: WASHINGTONMUTUAL/ (emily.chasan@thomsonreuters.com; +1 646 223 6114; Reuters Messaging: emily.chasan.reuters.com@reuters.net) COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Reuters News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Reuters.
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