PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 16, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- On August 14, 2002, a class action lawsuit was filed by the Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C. is in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of Baxter International Inc. ("Baxter" or the "Company")(NYSE:BAX) between January 24, 2002 and July 18, 2002.
The action, numbered 02-CV-5807, is pending in the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, located at 219 S. Dearborn Street, Illinois against defendants Baxter, Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr. and Brian P. Anderson. The Honorable James H. Alesia is presiding over the case. A copy of the Complaint is available from the Court or the Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C. Please visit our website at http://www.bernardmgross.com or contact us by phone at 866-561-3600 (toll free) or by E-mail at susang@bernardmgross.com.
The Complaint charges Baxter, Harry M. Jansen Kraemer, Jr, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, and Brian P. Anderson, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President, with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the SEC, by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market during the Class Period. As alleged in the Complaint, throughout the Class Period, defendants made statements highlighting Baxter's strong revenue and earnings growth and assuring the market that its business, including the Renal division, was growing successfully and that it would meet its financial performance targets for 2002, with growth being driven by double digit sales growth in the Medication delivery and BioScience segments and with sales in the Renal unit in the high-single digits (compared with 3% sales growth in 2001).
On July 18, 2002, the last day of the Class Period, Baxter shocked the market when it reported its second quarter 2002 results. Sales in the quarter rose only 8%, to $2.02 billion. Sales of BioScience grew only 7%, rather than the "mid-teens", while the Renal unit experienced a decline of 1%, instead of the "high-single-digit" growth promised by the Company. Baxter's net earnings of $253 million, or $0.42 per share, declined by 21% for the first quarter of 2001 after the Company reported a $551 million charge for in-process research and development of its second quarter acquisition of Fusion Medical and a $70 million impairment charge reflecting a decline in the value of certain of the Company's investments. In response to this announcement, the price of Baxter common stock plummeted, by 36.5%, falling from a $43.41 per share on July 17, 2002, to close at $32 per share on July 18, on extremely heavy trading volume.
Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C. has significant experience and expertise in prosecuting class actions and has recently filed cases in the following:
COMPANY SYMBOL PURCHASED DURING LEAD PLAINTIFF
CLASS PERIOD FILING DEADLINE
Amdocs Ltd DOX-NYSE 7/24/01-6/20/02 8/23/02
Aon AOC-NYSE 5/4/99-8/6/02 10/7/02
Corporation
Baxter BAX-NYSE 1/24/02-7/18/02 10/7/02
Int'l Inc.
Capital One COF-NYSE 1/15/00-7/16/02 9/17/02
Financial
Corporation
Citigroup, Inc. C-NYSE 7/24/99-7/23/02 9/23/02
Cross Media XMM-NYSE 11/5/01-7/11/02 9/16/02
Marketing
Corporation
Duane Reade, DRD-NASDAQ 4/25/02-7/24/02 10/15/02
Inc.
Eclipsys ECLP-NASDAQ 7/23/01-6/27/02 9/27/02
Corporation
Flextronics FLEX-NASDAQ 10/20/01-6/4/02 8/19/02
Int'l Ltd.
Insight NSIT-NASDAQ 4/26/02-7/17/02 9/27/02
Enterprises, Inc.
Merck & Co. MRK-NYSE 7/1/99-6/21/02 8/30/02
Merrill Lynch MER-NYSE 3/9/00-4/11/02 8/30/02
& Co
PerkinElmer, Inc. PKI-NYSE 7/15/01-4/11/02 9/6/02
Touch America TAA-NYSE 1/30/01-11/14/02 8/26/02
f/k/a Montana
Power Company
Plaintiff seek to recover damages on behalf of Class members and is represented by the law firm of Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C. which has significant experience and expertise in prosecuting class actions.
If you bought the common stock of Baxter International Inc. between January 24, 2002 and July 18, 2002, you may, no later than October 7, 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. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or rights or interests with respect to these matters,
PLEASE CONTACT: Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C.
Deborah R. Gross, Esquire
Susan Gross, Esquire
1515 Locust Street, Second Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
Telephone: 866-561-3600 (toll-free)
or 215-561-3600
E-mail: susang@bernardmgross.com or
debbie@bernardmgross.com.
Website: http://www.bernardmgross.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.