BOSTON, Sept. 03, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Block & Leviton LLP (www.blockesq.com), a securities litigation firm representing investors nationwide, has filed a class action complaint alleging violations of the federal securities laws against Abengoa SA (“Abengoa” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:ABGB) and three of its current or former officers, one of whom is also a member of its board of directors.
The case is pending in the United District Court for the Southern District of New York and is captioned Lamoureaux v. Abengoa SA et al, Case Number 1:15-cv-06971. Shareholders have until October 9, 2015, to seek appointment as lead plaintiff in this action. The Complaint was brought on behalf of all investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Abengoa’s securities (the “Class”) between October 13, 2013 and August 2, 2015 (the “Class Period”). This Class Period has been extended and is currently the longest Class Period of any related complaint against the Company on file.
The Complaint alleges that the Company failed to fully disclose material information with regard to the true state of Abengoa’s financial affairs and that the Company misrepresented its liquidity.
On July 31, 2015, Abengoa announced that it was lowering its free cash flow guidance and planned to divest itself of approximately 400 million euros in assets, despite recent announcements that “our business model is all set to enhance our free cash flow”. On July 31, 2015, Company CEO Santiago Seage, stated that although the Company had issued the reduced guidance, Abengoa “has no plan to tap the capital markets in any manner”.
Just days later, on August 3, 2015, the Company reversed course and announced a share issuance plan for 650 million euros, and increased its planned asset divestiture to 500 million euros. In addition to contradicting the CEO’s announcement of three days’ prior, it seemed to call into question Abengoa’s May 2015 representations that it had at least 400 million of undrawn working capital lines.
Following the July 31 and August 3, 2015 announcements, an August 11, 2015 Bloomberg report announced that Abengoa’s top shareholder, Inversion Corporativa, holder of 57.5% of the Company’s outstanding stock, had pledged 28.2 million Class A Abengoa shares and 115.6 million Class B Abengoa shares to banks as guarantees for loans. A substantial portion of these pledges, 16.9 million Class A and 83 million Class B shares, are guarantees for debt taken by a subsidiary of Inversion.
Since the initial news, the Company’s shares have dropped precipitously in value by approximately 61%. Plaintiff seeks to recover monetary damages on behalf of all Class members.
If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired securities of Abengoa during the Class Period, you have until October 9, 2015 to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff in this action. This deadline is mandated by federal law and cannot be extended. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision to serve or seek appointment as lead plaintiff and you have the right to hire an attorney of your own.
If you have questions about the lawsuit, would like a copy of the Complaint, possess information relevant to this investigation, or seek information about any of the foregoing, please contact attorney Steven P. Harte, at (617) 398-5600 or email him at Steven@blockesq.com.
Block & Leviton is also experienced at representing whistleblowers and encourages any insiders with information about the allegations to contact them. Confidentiality is assured.
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