LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 12, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Emerson Firm, a securities class action law firm which has a national and international practice, and offices in Houston, Texas and Little Rock, Arkansas has filed a securities class action in federal district court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of investors who acquired shares of New Power Holdings, Inc. ("NewPower" or the "Company") (NYSE:NPW).
The firm notes that the class action on behalf of New Power investors will continue, regardless of the outcome of a bid by Centrica. Some investors have expressed concern that the class action for securities law violations is dependent on the outcome of the Centrica proposal. This is incorrect. The class action will be vigorously prosecuted no matter which option Centrica chooses to pursue, as these two matters are independent of each other.
The class action filed by The Emerson Firm is pending on behalf of all individuals and institutional investors that purchased the common stock of NewPower Holdings, Inc between October 5, 2000 and December 5, 2001, inclusive. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be obtained from The Emerson Firm. The complaint alleges that the Registration Statement and Prospectus for NewPower's public offering on October 5, 2000 was false and misleading in several ways, including misrepresentations and omissions concerning the adequacy of risk management systems put in place in conjunction with NewPower affiliate, Enron Energy Services, Inc. ("EES"), and the true nature and purpose of certain related party transactions, including transactions pursuant to which Enron attempted to hedge its investment in NewPower through use of a partnership known as "Raptor III," which was conceived and designed by Enron CFO Andrew Fastow. Claims regarding these misrepresentations and omissions have been asserted under Section 11 of the Securities Act against the underwriters of the October 5, 2000 initial public offering and against those persons who were directors (or about to become directors) of NewPower at the time of that offering, including NewPower's top executives, CEO H. Eugene Lockhart, Chairman Lou L. Pai and CFO William I Jacobs. The complaint also alleges claims against certain of these same defendants for violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market between October 5, 2000 and December 5, 2001. The complaint alleges in this regard that NewPower Holdings and certain of its officers and directors misrepresented or failed to disclose: (i) that the Company had not adopted effective and appropriate hedging strategies against volatility of commodity prices; (ii) that the Company was on course to achieve its financial goals and had sufficient liquidity to do so; and (iii) that certain forward contracts with EES posed little risk of loss when in truth and in fact they were driving the Company toward insolvency, and were largely structured to protect and enrich Enron, NewPower's controlling shareholder.
If you purchased NewPower common stock between October 5, 2000 and December 5, 2001, inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than April 29, 2002. You can join this class action online by contacting The Emerson Firm as noted below. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through The Emerson Firm or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The Emerson Firm has substantial experience representing investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits such as this. The firm is deeply involved for plaintiffs in the Enron litigation. In another somewhat related litigation involving Enron, the firm was appointed by the Federal District Court for the Southern District of Texas to the Plaintiffs' Counsel Steering Committee in the Enron ERISA (retirement plan) litigation pending in Houston. If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses in New Power, or if you would like to consider serving as one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit, you are encouraged to call or e-mail the Firm.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca