Wednesday June 20, 8:30 pm Eastern Time
Press Release
Stull, Stull & Brody Brings Class Actions Targeting IPO Underwriters
INTERNET WIRE -- Stull, Stull & Brody announces that allegations in cases filed by it are supported by recent articles that have appeared in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal about investigations by the United States Justice Department and the Securities Exchange Commission into the manipulation of IPOs. Among the underwriters named as defendants are: Credit Suisse First Boston Corp., The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Lehman Brothers, Inc., Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc., Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., BancBoston Robertson, Stephens, Inc., and Salomon Smith Barney, Inc.
The lawsuits allege that defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing and selling common stock pursuant to the IPOs without disclosing to investors that some of the underwriters in the offering, including the lead underwriters, had solicited and received excessive and undisclosed commissions from certain investors.
Specifically, the complaints allege that in exchange for the excessive commissions, defendants allocated shares to customers at the IPO price. To receive the allocations (i.e., the ability to purchase shares) at the IPO price, the underwriters' brokerage customers had to agree to purchase additional shares in the aftermarket at progressively higher prices. The requirement that customers make additional purchases at progressively higher prices as the price of IPO stock rocketed upward (a practice known on Wall Street as "laddering") was intended to (and did) drive the share price up to artificially high levels. This artificial price inflation enabled both the underwriters and their customers to reap enormous profits by buying stock at the IPO price and then selling it later for a profit at inflated aftermarket prices.
Among the stocks alleged to have been manipulated were the shares of the following:
Razorfish, Inc. (NASDAQ: RAZF - news) for the class period between April 27, 1999 and June 11, 2001, inclusive, and;
Commerce One, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMRC - news) for the class period between July 1, 1999 and June 15, 2001, inclusive.
Plaintiffs in these actions are represented by Stull, Stull & Brody. Stull, Stull & Brody has litigated many class actions for violations of securities laws in federal and state courts over the past 25 years and has obtained court approval of substantial settlements on numerous occasions.
If you purchased any of the above securities during the class period you may request the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Tzivia Brody, Esq. at Stull, Stull & Brody by calling toll-free 1-800-337-4983, or by e-mail at SSBNY@aol.com, or by fax at 212/490-2022, or by writing to Stull, Stull & Brody, 6 East 45th Street, New York, NY 10017.
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Contact:
Tzivia Brody, Esq.
Stull, Stull & Brody
800-337-4983
SSBNY@aol.com
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