The law firms of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Grant & Eisenhofer P.A. announce proposed settlement in In re Merck & Co., Inc. Vytorin/Zetia Securities Litigation

NEW YORK, July 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

SUMMARY NOTICE OF
(I) PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND PLAN OF ALLOCATION; (II) SETTLEMENT
FAIRNESS HEARING; AND (III) MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES
AND REIMBURSEMENT OF LITIGATION EXPENSES

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY; YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

    YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that the Lead Plaintiffs in the above-captioned class action (the "Action"), on behalf of themselves and the Court-certified Class, have reached a proposed Settlement of the Action with Defendants Merck & Co., Inc., Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals, MSP Distribution Services (C) LLC, MSP Singapore Company LLC, Richard T. Clark, and Deepak Khanna (collectively, "Defendants").  The Settlement provides for a total payment of $215,000,000 for the benefit of the Class.  In return, Class Members will dismiss with prejudice the claims asserted in this Action against Defendants and grant the Releases specified and described in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement dated June 3, 2013 (the "Stipulation").

    A hearing will be held on October 1, 2013 at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable Dennis M. Cavanaugh in Courtroom PO 04 of the United States Post Office and Courthouse Building, Newark, NJ 07101, to determine: (1) whether the proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (2) whether the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against Defendants, and the Releases specified and described in the Stipulation should be granted; (3) whether the proposed Plan of Allocation for the proceeds of the Settlement should be approved as fair and reasonable; and (4) whether Co-Lead Counsel's application for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses should be granted.

    IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED ABOVE, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE SETTLEMENT FUND.  If you have not yet received the full printed Notice of (I) Proposed Settlement and Plan of Allocation; (II) Settlement Fairness Hearing; and (III) Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees and Reimbursement of Litigation Expenses (the "Settlement Notice"), you may obtain copies by contacting the Claims Administrator at:

     In re Merck & Co., Inc. Vytorin/Zetia Securities Litigation
     P.O. Box 4178
     Portland, OR 97208-4178
     (877) 866-5915

Copies of the Settlement Notice and the Proof of Claim Form ("Claim Form") are also available at www.merckvytorinsecuritieslitigation.com.

    If you are a member of the Class, in order to be eligible to share in the distribution of the proceeds of the Settlement you must submit a Claim Form postmarked no later than November 18, 2013.

    If you previously submitted a request for exclusion from the Class in connection with the Notice of Pendency of Class Action ("Class Notice") and you wish to remain excluded, no further action is required.  Please note that the Court, in its discretion, ordered that there shall not be a second opportunity to request exclusion from the Class.  However, if you previously submitted a request for exclusion from the Class in connection with the Class Notice and you want to opt-back into the Class for the purpose of being eligible to receive a payment from the Settlement Fund, you may do so.  In order to opt-back into the Class, you must submit a request to opt-back into the Class in writing such that it is received no later than August 5, 2013, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Settlement Notice.  If you previously submitted a request for exclusion from the Class in connection with the Class Notice and do not opt-back into the Class in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Settlement Notice, you will not be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Action and you will not be eligible to share in the net proceeds of the Settlement.

    Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, or the application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses must be filed with the Court and delivered to Co-Lead Counsel and Defendants' Counsel such that they are received no later than August 5, 2013, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Settlement Notice.

    Inquiries, other than requests for copies of the Settlement Notice and Claim Form, may be directed to Co-Lead Counsel:

SOURCE Grant & Eisenhofer P.A., Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP