Gilat exec settles SEC insider trading case, fined

* SEC says VP Levinberg agrees to pay $383,463

* SEC says Levinberg learned Scopus was looking for buyer

NEW YORK Feb 3 (Reuters) - A Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd (GILT.O) executive has agreed to pay $383,463 to settle a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing him of insider trading, the regulator said on Wednesday.

In a complaint filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court, the SEC had accused Joshua Levinberg, an executive vice president of corporate development and business strategy, of generating about $188,000 of illegal profit from buying stock in Israel-based Scopus Video Networks Ltd. [ID:nN02113291]

The SEC said Levinberg began purchases after learning that Scopus was looking for a buyer. It said he ultimately bought 102,172 shares, including a 71,000-share purchase that took place six days before Scopus agreed to be acquired by Harmonic Inc (HLIT.O) for a 46 percent premium over its stock price.

Gilat was unavailable for immediate comment. The company has offices in Petah Tikva, Israel.

The SEC said Levinberg's civil penalty is the sum of his illegal profit, a fine equal to that profit, and interest. He did not admit wrongdoing, the regulator said.

The case is SEC v. Levinberg, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 10-00777. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)