NEW YORK, Oct. 15, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pomerantz Haudek Block Grossman & Gross LLP (www.pomerantzlaw.com) has filed a class action lawsuit against IAC/Interactivecorp ("IAC" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:IACI) and five of the Company's senior officers, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased the securities of IAC during the period between March 19, 2003 through August 4, 2004, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The complaint alleges that IAC, a multi-brand interactive commerce company, consisting of the following segments: Travel (Expedia, Hotels.com, Hotwire, Interval International, and TV Travel Shop), Electronic Retailing (HSN, a home shopping service), Ticketing (Ticketmaster and ReserveAmerica), Personals (Match.com), Financial Services and Real Estate (LendingTree.com), Teleservices (Precision Response Corporation), Local and Media Services (Citysearch, Evite, Entertainment Publications, Inc. and TripAdvisor, Inc.) and Interactive Development (ZeroDegrees), and the Company's Chairman Barry Diller, CFO Dara Khosrowshahi, Executive Vice President Julius Genachowski, Director Richard N. Barton, and Vice Chairman Victor Kaufman, violated the federal securities laws arising out of defendants' dissemination of false and misleading statements concerning the Company's operations, business model, financial results and growth prospects.
According to the Complaint, the Company failed to disclose material adverse facts about the Company's operations, prospects and financial performance, including (1) that the Company knew or recklessly disregarded that its profits were being adversely impacted by the decreases in available discounted inventory, such as discount hotel rooms and airline tickets; (2) that IAC had to expend additional resources in order to market its products and brands in the maturing Internet industry and was facing increased Internet competition; (3) that the favorable performance of IAC's Expedia and the Hotels.com division were largely dependent on the Company's improper recognition of revenue; and (4) as a result of the foregoing, that defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company's growth and progress.
On August 4, 2004, the Company reported its second quarter 2004 earnings release disclosing that its Q2 2004 net income fell 24% from the same quarter in 2003 and that it was cutting its forecast for full-year operating profits dues to increased Internet competition, which was impacting the Company's performance. As a result of this news, shares of IAC fell dramatically from its Class Period high of $42.74 per share on July 7, 2003 to close at $22.80 per share on August 4, 2004, erasing over $10 billion in market capitalization.
If you purchased the securities of IAC during the Class Period, you have until November 19, 2004 to ask the Court to appoint you as one of the lead plaintiffs for the Class. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, you must meet certain legal requirements. If you wish to review a copy of the Complaint, to discuss this action or have any questions, please contact Andrew G. Tolan, Esq. of the Pomerantz firm at 888-476-6529 (or (888) 4-POMLAW), toll free, or at agtolan@pomlaw.com by e-mail. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address and telephone number.
The Pomerantz firm, which has offices in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 50 years later, the Pomerantz firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members.