Cohen's SAC will close London office by year-end -report

NEW YORK, Oct (KOSDAQ: 039200.KQ - news) 22 (Reuters) - Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors will shut down its London office by the end of the year, according to a report by Bloomberg that cited an unidentified person with direct knowledge of the decision.

The reported closure comes as the Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund downsizes in response to a long-running insider trading investigation.

SAC (KOSDAQ: 122690.KQ - news) officials did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

Several senior employees that work for SAC in London have left the firm in recent weeks, including a number of portfolio managers, Reuters has reported.

This summer, U.S. prosecutors indicted Cohen's firm, saying SAC fostered a culture in which employees flouted the law and were encouraged to tap their personal networks of contacts for inside information about publicly traded companies.

Reuters has also reported that SAC is close to reaching a deal with U.S prosecutors to resolve the insider trading case against the firm, a deal that could come within days and would likely involve some admission of liability by the firm and a payment of more than $1 billion.