BALA CYNWYD, Pa., May 29, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Alcatel S.A. ("Alcatel" or the "Company") relating to Alcatel's Class O common shares (Nasdaq:ALAO) in or traceable to the initial public offering (the "Offering" or "IPO") of the ADSs conducted by Alcatel on or about October 20, 2000, and (b) all persons other than defendants who purchased Alcatel's Class A common shares (NYSE:ALA) and Class O common shares in the form of ADSs between October 20, 2000 and May 29, 2001, inclusive (the "Class Period").
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 Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint charges Alacatel S.A. and certain of its officers and directors with issuing a false and misleading prospectus on October 20, 2000, and by making material misrepresentations to the market between October 20, 2000 and May 29, 2001. Specifically, the complaint alleges that on October 20, 2000, Alcatel issued a prospectus for the sale of Class O stock in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADSs) that purportedly would track the performance of Alcatel's Optronics Division. The Prospectus was materially false and misleading, as alleged in the complaint, because it failed to disclose (a) that demand for the Company's optical components was weakening as Alcatel and the Optronics Division's other customers were experiencing severe and persistent business slowdowns; (b) that the purportedly increasing demand for the Optronics Division's optical components was the result of a massive inventory build at the Optical Division's primary customer, Alcatel, and at the Company's external customers; ( c) that the Company was amassing hundreds of millions of dollars of obsolete inventory which would have to be written-off; and that (d) in light of the decreasing demand for optical components, the Company was not in a position to successfully promote sales of all product lines to outside customers.
Subsequently, on May 29, 2001, Alcatel issued an unexpected and severe profit warning and separately announced that it expected to report a second-quarter loss of approximately $2.6 billion. Following this announcement, the price of Alcatel Class O common shares, in the form of ADSs, declined by 11% from a closing price of $21.26 on May 29, 2001 to a closing price of $18.92 on May 30, 2001. Similarly, Alcatel Class A common shares, in the form of ADSs declined by 8.8% from $27.14 to 24.74.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP, which prosecutes class actions on behalf of investors and shareholders. For more information on Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign-up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/cgi/signup.cgi.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than July 16, 2002, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca