NEW YORK , Feb. 24, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The deadline for purchasers of Parmalat Finanziaria S.p.A., ("Parmalat," "the Group," or the "Company") (Pink Sheets:PARAF), publicly traded securities to move for lead plaintiff in a securities fraud class action recently brought against the Company is rapidly approaching. If you purchased Parmalat publicly traded securities between January 5, 1999 and December 29, 2003, inclusive (the "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 Southern District of New York by March 5, 2004. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the firm's website at http://www.cauleygeller.com/show_case.asp?ccode=215&pcode=10&pp=4.
The complaint, filed by a client of Cauley Geller Bowman & Rudman, LLP, charges Parmalat, Calisto Tanzi, Stefano Tanzi, Luciano Del Soldato, Domenico Barili, Francesco Giuffredi, Giovanni Tanzi, Fausto Tonna Deloitte & Touche Tohmatsu, Deloitte & Touche S.p.A., Citigroup, Inc., Grant Thornton International, Grant Thornton S.p.A., Bonlat Financing Corp., Coloniale S.p.A., Zini & Associates, and Buconero LLC with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by engaging in a scheme to defraud the investing public and by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between January 5, 1999 and December 29, 2003. More specifically, the complaint alleges that the defendants' statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts: (1) that the Company's assets in its audited financial statements were overstated; (2) that Parmalat falsely stated that it had used its "excess cash balances" -- which actually did not exist -- to repurchase corporate debt securities worth 2.9 billion euros (approximately $3.6 billion), when in fact it had not repurchased those debt obligations and they remained outstanding; (3) that the $625 million of Parmalat's cash allegedly invested in a liquid investment fund in the Cayman Islands could not be retrieved because it was falsified; (4) that the Company used off-shore shell companies, such as Bonlat Financing Corp., Buconero LLC, and Epicurum to falsify its financial results; (5) that defendants C. Tanzi and S. Tanzi siphoned as much as 800 million euros ($1 billion) from Parmalat operations, mainly to finance other family businesses; (6) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (7) that as a result, the values of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On December 9, 2003, defendant Calisto Tanzi, then Parmalat's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and his son, defendant Stefano Tanzi, a senior Parmalat executive, met with representatives from a New York City-based private equity and financial advisory firm regarding a possible leveraged buyout of Parmalat. During that meeting, in response to a comment by one of the Tanzis about liquidity problems at Parmalat, one of the New York firm's representatives noted that Parmalat's financial statements showed that the company had a large amount of cash. In response, defendant Stefano Tanzi stated that the cash was not there, and that Parmalat really had only 500 million euros in cash. Later, defendant Luciano Del Soldato, then Parmalat's Chief Financial Officer, joined the meeting. During a discussion of Parmalat's outstanding debt, Mr. Del Soldato stated that Parmalat's debt was actually 10 billion euros, much higher than the balance sheet showed. Mr. Del Soldato indicated that the balance sheet was incorrect because the company had not repurchased 2.9 billion euros of Parmalat bonds. The balance sheet falsely reflected that the bonds had been repurchased.
These events eventually lead to Parmalat's December 29, 2003 announcement that it had been declared insolvent by an Italian Court.
If you bought Parmalat publicly traded securities between January 5, 1999 and December 29, 2003, inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than March 5, 2004. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action online at http://www.cauleygeller.com/template8.asp?pcode=6&pp=1. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through Cauley Geller or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Cauley Geller is a national law firm that represents investors and consumers in class action and corporate governance litigation. It is one of the country's premiere firms in the area of securities fraud, with in-house finance and forensic accounting specialists and extensive trial experience. Since its founding, Cauley Geller has recovered in excess of two billion dollars on behalf of aggrieved shareholders. The firm maintains offices in Boca Raton, Little Rock and New York.
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.cauleygeller.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca