NEW YORK, July 26, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The law firm of Wechsler Harwood Halebian & Feffer LLP ("Wechsler Harwood") announces that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the securities of Flextronics International Ltd. ("Flextronics" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:FLEX) between October 2, 2001 and June 4, 2002, inclusive (the "Class Period") against Flextronics and certain of its officers.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between October 2, 2001 and June 4, 2002, thereby artificially inflating the price of Flextronics securities. The complaint alleges that Flextronics failed to disclose that its business and operations were being negatively affected by a host of adverse factors, including, but not limited to, the following: (a) that Flextronics was experiencing declining sales as its business began to be affected by adverse market forces. Throughout the Class Period, defendants repeatedly emphasized that the Company was not being affected by the slowdown in the U.S. or global economy, when, in fact, that was not true; (b) throughout the Class Period, many of Flextronics's customers were experiencing severe financial difficulty such that it was highly foreseeable that they would be unable to complete anticipated sales, thereby causing Flextronics to suffer a decline in its revenues. At all times throughout the Class Period, defendants lacked a reasonable basis upon which to publish and/or affirm the revenue guidance they provided to analysts and investors; and (c) defendants had purposely and/or recklessly under-reported the amount of financing needed to complete the Company's restructuring and over-stated the status of the completion of this reorganization, as well as made false statements concerning the Company's financial and operational condition because it was critical that defendants raise cash by selling more equity during the upcoming months.
On June 4, 2002, the last day of the Class Period, defendants shocked the market when they finally revealed that the restructuring, which was purportedly paid for in October 2001 and substantially completed thereafter, was still far from complete. Defendants now admitted that there were at least an additional $150 million in restructuring charges that must be recorded. In addition, defendants also stated that they could not possibly meet the Company's previous earnings and revenue forecasts for its first fiscal quarter 2003.
In response to this negative announcement, the price of Flextronics common stock dropped precipitously, falling from $12.32 per share to as low as $9.50 per share, a decline of almost 23%, on tremendous volume of 47 million Flextronics shares traded.
If you are a member of the Class described above, and if you meet certain other legal requirements, you may, no later than August 19, 2002, move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff. 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." The requirements for serving as a lead plaintiff are set forth in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. Section 78u-4).
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whhf.com) has more information about the firm. 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 Halebian & Feffer 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@whhf.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.