SAC deal reported

Stamford-based SAC Capital Advisors, once among the world”™s top-earning hedge funds, has agreed to close its doors to outside investors and pay a record-setting $1.2 billion fine to settle charges of insider trading dating to 1999.

In a deal federal prosecutors announced Monday, the Steve Cohen-owned SAC also agreed to to hire a government-approved “independent compliance consultant” to monitor its trading as it winds down its activities through a probation period.

In a missive to two judges overseeing separate criminal and civil cases against SAC, prosecutors called terms of the unprecedented deal “steep but fair.” They said the penalties “are commensurate with the breadth and duration of the criminal conduct.”

At an afternoon news conference, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said, “what has happened today is a very substantial thing,” adding that SAC was paying “the just and appropriate price, in our view, for the conduct that occurred here.”

Bharara noted that “SAC has made it clear that no outside money will be used to pay for the penalties.”

Forbes places Cohen”™s personal wealth above $9 billion.