SEATTLE, Nov. 15, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Keller Rohrback L.L.P. announces that a shareholder derivative complaint has been filed in the Superior Court of the State of California, Riverside County, on behalf of nominal defendant Hansen Natural Corp. ("Hansen" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:HANS) and against certain past and present executive officers and directors of Hansen.
On October 31, 2006, Hansen announced that it had received a letter from the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") requesting documents and information relating to the Company's filing of SEC Forms 4 and the Company's stock option grant practices from January 1, 1996 to the present. On November 6, 2006, Hansen announced that it had appointed a special committee to investigate certain option grants and that the special committee had retained independent counsel to conduct the investigation. Pending the conclusion of the investigation, the Company determined to report selected financial information only for the third quarter and nine-months ended September 30, 2006 and 2005, respectively.
Keller Rohrback's investigation focuses on the extent that the Company's stock option grant dates and exercise prices of stock options were manipulated by Hansen's executive officers and directors in order to boost their value to those who received them. Specifically, we are looking at whether potential defendants have breached their fiduciary duties and colluded with one another to: (1) improperly backdate grants of Hansen's stock options to various executive officers and directors in violation of the Company's shareholder-approved stock option plans; (2) improperly record and account for the backdated stock options in violation of GAAP; (3) improperly take tax deductions based on the backdated stock options in violation of the Tax Code; and (4) produce and disseminate to the Company's shareholders false financial statements and other SEC filings that improperly recorded and accounted for the backdated option grants thereby concealing the improper backdating of stock options.
If you are a current Hansen shareholder and have information that is relevant to our investigation, or if you would like additional information concerning the shareholder derivative claims presently being investigated, please contact paralegal Jennifer Tuato'o or attorneys Elizabeth Leland, Cari Campen Laufenberg, Lynn Sarko or Gary Gotto by telephone, toll-free at 1-800-776-6044, or via e-mail at: investor@kellerrohrback.com.
To date, more than 100 companies are being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and U.S. Attorney's offices across the country, resulting in civil and even criminal charges. Keller Rohrback L.L.P. is currently investigating the following companies for improperly manipulating the prices of options granted to executive officers and directors:
Company Company
Digital River Inc. Nvidia Corp.
Flir Systems Inc. Silicon Image, Inc.
Getty Images Inc. Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl.
Keller Rohrback L.L.P. is a law firm headquartered in Seattle that has successfully represented shareholders and consumers in class action cases for over two decades. Its trial lawyers have obtained judgments and settlements on behalf of clients in excess of seven billion dollars.