BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Sept. 30, 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 District Court of New Jersey on behalf of all persons who exchanged shares of Summit Bancorp ("Summit") for shares of the common stock of FleetBoston Financial Corporation (NYSE:FBF) ("FleetBoston") in connection with the merger between Summit and FleetBoston which was completed on or about March 1, 2001 (the "Merger"), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Act of 1933 (the "Class").
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 alleges the Registration Statement filed by FleetBoston with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 25, 2001 and the Joint Proxy Statement and Prospectus included within the Registration Statement (collectively, the "Merger Proxy/Prospectus"), incorporated by reference FleetBoston's Form 10-K for its year ended December 31, 1999, and its Form 10-Qs for the three months ended March 31, 2000, June 30, 2000, and September 30, 2000 ("Incorporated Filings"). The Complaint alleges that the Incorporated Filings contained falsely positive and misleading information about FleetBoston's success in Latin American markets, in particular Argentina, and that the Incorporated Filings contained false financial information regarding FleetBoston's earnings stemming from its Argentinian operations and its reserves for credit losses related to loans in Argentina. This information was material to Summit shareholders considering how to vote on the Merger, including whether the Exchange Ratio accurately reflected the value of FleetBoston common stock. Starting in January 2002 and continuing into 2002, after the Merger was complete and Summit shareholders had already tendered their shares, FleetBoston shocked its investors by taking charges for credit losses on loans in Argentina amounting to approximately $2.3 billion.
Defendants are the officers and/or directors of the FleetBoston who signed the Registration Statement. As a result of defendants' false statements, misrepresentations, and omissions, the price of FleetBoston securities was artificially inflated at the time of the Merger. FleetBoston shares reached a closing price of $41.00 per share on March 1, 2001, the closing date of the Merger.
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 November 19, 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