CHICAGO, July 8, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The deadline for purchasers of Sara Lee Corporation ("Sara Lee" or the "Company") (NYSE:SLE) publicly traded securities to move for lead plaintiff in a securities fraud class action brought against Sara Lee, and certain of its officers and directors, is rapidly approaching. If you purchased Sara Lee securities between August 1, 2002 and April 24, 2003, inclusive ("Class Period"), and you wish to be a lead plaintiff in the case, you must move to serve as lead plaintiff by filing a motion in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, by July 14, 2003.
If you wish to discuss your rights and interests, or if you have information relevant to the lawsuit, you may contact Carol V. Gilden or Michael E. Moskovitz at Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C., by calling a toll-free number 1-800-470-6824, or by sending an e-mail to investorhelp@muchshelist.com. Your e-mail should refer to Sara Lee.
The Complaint that Much Shelist has filed alleges that Sara Lee 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 during the Class Period. Also named in the Complaint are C. Steven McMillan, Sara Lee's Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, and Lambertus M. de Kool, its Chief Financial Officer. According to the Complaint, these misstatements had the effect of artificially inflating the price of Sara Lee securities while Company insiders sold over $23 million of their own stock.
Specifically, the Complaint alleges that the statements concerning the Company's operations and prospects were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose: (a) that, despite the Company Reshaping program, Sara Lee was still burdened with numerous poorly performing businesses and would have to reevaluate its various businesses. Accordingly, Sara Lee did not have "the right mix of businesses" in that several material businesses were "not growing" or were "in significant decline"; (b) that the Sara Lee's underperforming businesses were causing the Company to experience declining results and, as a result, Sara Lee would not be growing at the rates represented to the market; (c) due to a lack of proper internal or financial controls, Sara Lee failed to identify or recognize those businesses or brands among its portfolio of companies that would need to be "run dramatically differently in the future"; and (d) based on the foregoing, Sara Lee lacked any reasonable basis upon which to project it (i) would experience "double-digit operating income increase" for fiscal 2003 among its "five lines of business" or (ii) have diluted EPS for fiscal 2003 in the range of $1.54 to $1.60.
On April 24, 2003, Sara Lee shocked the market when it issued a press release announcing its financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2003. The Company announced that it was reducing earnings for fiscal 2003 to $1.50 to $1.52 per share, significantly below consensus expectations of $1.59. In response to this announcement, the price of Sara Lee common stock closed down $1.94 from the previous day's ending price. If you purchased Sara Lee securities during the Class Period and if you meet certain other legal requirements, you may file a motion in the court where the lawsuit has been filed to serve as a lead plaintiff. You must file your motion no later than July 14, 2003.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. The requirements for serving as a lead plaintiff are set forth in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. Section 78u-4).
Much Shelist's history is one of experience, leadership and results. For more than 25 years, Much Shelist has represented plaintiffs in class action litigation in federal and state courts across the United States. The firm has successfully prosecuted cases involving securities fraud, antitrust violations, consumer fraud, unlawful business practices and insurance company fraud. Under Much Shelist's leadership, class members have obtained judgments and settlements in excess of $4 billion.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca