Germany's Continental could be investigation target

FRANKFURT, July 31 (Reuters) - Car-parts maker Continental (CONG.DE), which has complained to German regulator BaFin about a hostile bid by bearings-maker Schaeffler, could become the target of an investigation by the stock market watchdog. A BaFin spokeswoman said on Thursday the authority was looking into whether Continental had leaked insider information to analysts ahead of Thursday's quarterly results. [ID:nL1395056]

If it turns out it was not only the in-line figures that were released, the regulator would investigate whether this violated ad-hoc reporting rules.

Germany's Handelsblatt, which published in Thursday's edition sales and earnings figures for the group and its six divisions, reported that analysts had received internal figures for the quarter on Monday already.

"If no further information was distributed in advance, we see that then as unproblematic," the BaFin spokeswoman said.

A spokesman for Continental declined comment. (Reporting by Philipp Halstrick)