CHICAGO, Oct. 14, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C. announces that the Class Period for a class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Fleming Companies, Inc. (NYSE:FLM) ("Fleming" or the "Company") has been extended to between May 9, 2001 and September 4, 2002, inclusive.
It has been alleged that Fleming, Mark S. Hansen, Fleming's CEO and Chairman, Neal J. Rider, its' CFO, and Thomas G. Dahlen, its' Executive Vice President and President, Retail and Corporate Marketing, violated the federal securities laws by issuing a series of materially false and misleading statements to the market, which had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of Fleming stock.
Much Shelist is currently investigating these claims. If you wish to discuss your rights and interests, or if you have information relevant to the lawsuit, you may contact Carol V. Golden or Michael E. Moskovitz at Much Shelist Freed Denenberg Ament & Rubenstein, P.C., by calling a toll-free number 1-800-470-6824, or by sending an e-mail to investorhelp@muchshelist.com. Your e-mail should refer to Fleming.
The complaint alleges that beginning in early 2002, the defendants issued numerous positive statements regarding Fleming's "price-impact" retail supermarket division. These statements were made despite the fact that the defendants knew, or recklessly disregarded, that the performance of Fleming's "price-impact" retail supermarket division was, in the words of the defendants, "disappointing." These statements falsely portrayed Fleming's business prospects and artificially inflated and maintained the price of Fleming common stock. The defendants capitalized on their false and misleading statements by: 1) lowering the interest rate and extending the maturity on $250 million of Fleming's debt; 2) raising over $155 million through the June 13, 2002 sale of 8 million shares of Fleming common stock at $19.40 per share; 3) raising an additional $200 million through the June 13, 2002 sale of Fleming Notes due 2010; and 4) using the proceeds of the June 13, 2002 securities sales to complete the purchase of Core-Mark International, Inc. and Head Distributing for $330 million in cash -- acquisitions described by the defendants as "key" to Fleming's implementation of its strategic transformation into an efficient, national, multi-tier supply chain for consumer packaged goods.
Then, approximately six weeks after defendants sold $355 million worth of Fleming securities, Fleming announced after the close of trading on July 30, 2002, in a departure from the repeated and positive statements made by the defendants during the Class Period, that its "price-impact" retail supermarket division was not only performing poorly, but performing so poorly that Fleming was considering abandoning this line of business entirely. The price of Fleming common stock dramatically declined on this announcement, falling from $15.21 on July 30, 2002 to $13.75 on July 31, 2002, on huge trading volume of 3.9 million shares, and continued to decline over the next two heavy trading days to a 52-week low of $10.76 on August 2, 2002. Since then, the price of Fleming common stock has never recovered, and currently trades well below the $19.40 price at which Fleming sold 8 million shares to unsuspecting investors on June 13, 2002.
If you purchased Fleming stock during the period from May 9, 2001 through September 4, 2002 and if you meet certain other legal requirements, you may file a motion in the court where the lawsuit has been filed to serve as a lead plaintiff. You must file your motion no later than October 28, 2002.
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. 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).
Much Shelist's history is one of experience, leadership and results. For more than 25 years, Much Shelist has represented plaintiffs in class action litigation in federal and state courts across the United States. The firm has successfully prosecuted cases involving securities fraud, antitrust violations, consumer fraud, unlawful business practices and insurance company fraud. Under Much Shelist's leadership, class members have obtained judgments and settlements in excess of $4 billion.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca