Gardy & Notis LLP Issues Notice Of The Filing Of A Securities Class Action Against AbbVie And Its Chief Executive Officer
NEW YORK, Nov. 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Gardy & Notis, LLP has filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 1:14-cv-09465, on behalf of Murray Rubenstein, et al., and all similarly-situated persons and entities who purchased or acquired Shire plc ("Shire") American Depository Shares ("ADS") or purchased call options or sold put options (collectively, Securities") between June 20, 2014 and October 14, 2014, inclusive (the "Class Period") against AbbVie Inc. ("AbbVie") and its Chief Executive Officer, Richard Gonzalez ("Gonzalez"). The action alleges AbbVie and Gonzalez committed violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Plaintiffs bring this action in connection with statements distributed by, or on behalf of, AbbVie to purchasers of Shire Securities during the Class Period regarding AbbVie's rationale for pursuing a business combination with Shire and decision to terminate the agreement to merge with Shire.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period AbbVie, an Illinois-based biopharmaceutical company, and Gonzalez made fraudulent material misrepresentations and omissions regarding a proposed business combination of Shire and AbbVie (the "Combination"), pursuant to a cooperation agreement, whereby AbbVie would merge with and into Shire, and reincorporate in Ireland. Among other things, the complaint alleges that defendants materially misrepresented or failed to disclose the following adverse facts: (i) that the Combination was based on various strategic rationales; and (ii) that the expected tax benefit as a result of reincorporation in Ireland (a practice known as a tax inversion) was "not the primary rationale" for the Combination.
On October 14, 2014, when the U.S. Department of Treasury announced a change in the treatment of tax inversions, AbbVie announced it was reconsidering the Combination. Following this disclosure, the price of Shire's Securities dropped $74.80 per share, more than 30%, from a closing price of $244.57 on October 14, 2014 to a closing price of $170.49 per share on October 15, 2014. On October 21, 2014, AbbVie announced that it had agreed to terminate the proposed Combination and would be required to pay Shire the hefty $1.64 billion termination fee pursuant to the cooperation agreement.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Shire Securities during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiffs are represented by Gardy & Notis LLP, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
If you purchased or acquired Shire Securities during the Class Period, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today (no later than January 26, 2015). If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice, please contact: Mark C. Gardy or James S. Notis at Gardy & Notis, LLP at 212-905-0509, or by email at [email protected] or [email protected]. You may visit the firm's website at www.gardylaw.com.
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SOURCE Gardy & Notis, LLP
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