If one has knowledge of a company making an acquisition, before it happens, that will likely give rise to their share price, is it illegal for an insider or even an outsider to take a position in that stock? I assume yes. BUT, is it also illegal to take the position in that stock after the public announcement of said acquisition?
If it's already public, there's no reason you can't. Your company should also attempt to alert you of any "insider trading blackout periods" as well in my experience. If it's public though, everyone already knows about it and the big guys are already invested.