Bala Cynwyd, Pa., July 28, 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 District of Connecticut on behalf of all purchasers of the publicly traded securities of Crompton Corp. (NYSE:CK) ("Crompton" or the "Company"), including former Crompton & Knowles Corp. and Witco, Corp. shareholders who exchanged their shares from stock of CK Witco pursuant to the merger from October 26, 1998 through October 8, 2002, 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 and Sections 11 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between January 9, 2002 and July 1, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of Crompton's publicly traded securities. The Complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: (1) that Crompton was engaged in an illegal anti-competitive scheme with its competitors to drive a more stable price environment within the rubber chemical industry by agreeing on prices that each competitor charged the other; (2) that its financial results were a product of its anti-competitive behavior and were materially inflated as a result; (3) that the Company knew that its anti-competitive behavior could possibly subject the Company to regulatory scrutiny in the future if such anti-competitive behavior was discovered; (4) that its financial results would be materially impacted if the Company were forced to stop its anti-competitive behavior; and (5) as a result of its anti-competitive behavior, the Company's financial statements were in violation of GAAP.
On October 8, 2002, the Company shocked the market by disclosing that it and several of its employees had been issued grand jury subpoenas in connection with an investigation by U.S. and European Union authorities concerning allegations of collusive dealings in the rubber chemicals industry. News of this announcement stunned the market. On October 9, 2002, shares of Crompton fell $3.25 or 35.5% to close at $5.90 per share, down from $9.15 per share.
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 September 16, 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