BALA CYNWYD, Pa., May 22, 2003 (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 Central District of California on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Blue Rhino Corporation ("Blue Rhino" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:RINO) from August 15, 2002 through February 5, 2003, 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 alleges 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 material misrepresentations to the market between August 15, 2002 and February 5, 2003, thereby artificially inflating the price of Blue Rhino securities. The Complaint alleges that defendants issued a series of materially false and misleading statements concerning the Company's operations and financial results. In particular, the Complaint alleges that defendants' statements were materially false and misleading because defendants failed to disclose and misrepresented: (1) that the 10 distributors acquired on November 22, 2002, which included Platinum Propane L.L.C. ("Platinum") and Ark Holding Co., L.L.C. ("Ark"), were not healthy, highly profitable, and independent of the Company as portrayed by Blue Rhino. In fact, on a combined basis, these distributors had lost $2.8 million in the first ten months of 2002 and owed Blue Rhino $5 million in cash advances in addition to their $2.8 million of debt. Also, one of the acquired distributors (Platinum) was in violation of its debt covenants for 2001; (2) that the Company misrepresented that the purchase price of this acquisition only totaled $21 million when in fact the true price of the acquisition was $32 million; (3) that the Company was beginning to see a decline in earnings from the Overfill Protection Device ("OPD") regulations; (4) that the Company's earnings projections were lacking in any reasonable basis when made; and (5) that the false and misleading information disseminated by the defendants caused Blue Rhino's securities to trade at artificially inflated prices.
On February 5, 2003, the Company filed a current report on Form 8-K with the SEC. Therein, the Company for the first time, and contrary to its previous statements, disclosed that the true acquisition price paid by the Company for the 10 distributors in November 2002 was $32 million; that the acquired distributors had a net loss of $2,804,000; and that the acquired distributors were not healthy, highly profitable, and independent of the Company. News of the Company's 8-K filing shocked the market on February 6, 2003. On that day, shares of the Blue Rhino fell $1.56 or 11% to close at $12.59, down from its previous day close of $14.15.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/currentcases.cfm.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than July 18, 2003, 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