MILWAUKEE, May 10, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The law firm of Ademi & O'Reilly, LLP announced that it filed a class action lawsuit on April 17, 2003, on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Alliant Energy Corp. ("Alliant Energy" or the "Company") (NYSE:LNT) between January 29, 2002 to July 18, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period"), who have been damaged thereby.
If you bought the securities of Alliant Energy between January 29, 2002 to July 18, 2002, and have been damaged thereby, you may, no later than June 23, 2003, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action online at http://www.ademilaw.com/cases/Alliant.php. A Lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. You may retain Ademi & O'Reilly, LLP, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
The action, numbered 03-C-0191-S, is pending in the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, against defendants Alliant Energy, Erroll B. Davis, Jr. (CEO, President and Chairman), Thomas M. Walker (CFO) and John E. Kratchmer (Chief Accounting Officer, Controller). The Honorable John C. Shabaz is the Judge presiding over the action.
The complaint charges that defendants violated 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 January 29, 2002 to July 18, 2002. The complaint alleges that the Company falsely touted the performance of its non-regulated businesses and represented that those businesses would compensate for expected 2002 weakness in its utilities operations. The complaint further alleges that the Company also represented that its unregulated businesses were integral to the Company's operations and were key to the Company's expected annual growth rate of 7%-10%. Such statements were materially false and misleading when made, the complaint alleges, because defendants knew, or were reckless in not knowing, that the unregulated businesses were suffering from serious problems, that such businesses were a material drain on the Company overall and could not compensate for any weaknesses in the regulated businesses and that the Company could not meet its 2002 earnings targets by the results of its utilities businesses alone.
On July 18, 2002, the Company announced that it was cutting its 2002 earnings expectations by over 35%. Investors, conditioned by defendants Class Period statements, reacted by selling-off the stock, which fell by 23% in one day, from $23.78 per share on July 18, 2002, to $18.22 per share on July 19, on unusually heavy trading volume. A few months after the end of the Class Period, the Company announced that it would sell many of its non-utility assets as part of an effort to re-focus its business around the Company's utilities operations. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on our website at: http://www.ademilaw.com/cases/Alliant.pdf.
If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses, 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 or visit the Firm's website at www.ademilaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com