NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Wechsler Harwood LLP today announced that it has filed a Federal Securities fraud class action suit on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Infineon Technologies AG ("Infineon" or the "Company") (NYSE:IFX) from March 13, 2000 through September 15, 2004 inclusive (the "Class Period").
The action, entitled Vendittis v. Infineon Technologies AG, et al., Case No. (not yet assigned), is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and names as defendants, the Company, its Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer (until his resignation on March 30, 2004), Ulrich Schumacher, its Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Peter Bauer, and its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Peter J. Fischl. A copy of the complaint can be obtained from the Court or can be viewed on Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The complaint charges defendants with violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder. More specifically, the complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Company entered into and engaged in a combination and conspiracy in the United States and elsewhere to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of Dynamic Random Access Memory ("DRAM") to be sold to original manufacturers of personal computers and servers; (2) that as a result of the price fixing, the Company was able to maintain higher profit margins; (3) that as a consequence of the foregoing, the Company's announced financial results were in violation of generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"); and (4) that the Company's financial results were materially inflated at all relevant times.
On September 15, 2004, Infineon announced that it had reached an agreement with the United States Department of Justice - Antitrust Division to plead guilty to a single and limited charge related to the violation of US antitrust laws in connection with the pricing in its DRAM business between July 1, 1999 and June 15, 2002. Under the terms of the agreement, Infineon had agreed to pay a fine of $160 million, an amount fully covered by the Company's recent third quarter accrual. On this news, shares of Infineon fell $.21 per share, or 2.04 percent, on September 15, 2004, to close at $10.07 per share.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than November 29, 2004 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. 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. You may retain Wechsler Harwood, or other counsel of your choice, to serve as your counsel in this action.
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following:
Wechsler Harwood LLP 488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400 Craig Lowther, Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations Department: clowther@whesq.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.