According to the New York Times, Blackstone Group agreed to pay $85 million last week to settle a class action lawsuit brought by a group of investors that accused it of misrepresenting some investments before its 2007 initial public offering.
The Times reported that in the settlement, filed in Federal District Court in Manhattan, Blackstone denied any wrongdoing or liability. The company also avoided a securities class-action trial that was scheduled to begin this month.
Investors involved in a class action lawsuit against Blackstone said that the company did not properly disclose the value of its investments in three companies (a monoline insurer, a semiconductor manufacturer and a real estate company), which were losing money at the time of the I.P.O.
On its first day of trading following the I.P.O., shares for Blackstone reached $35.06, but bottomed out a year later at $18.15 per share a year later. Representatives for Blackstone could not be reached for comment, according to the Times.
Securities class action cases typically involve a stock or security value going down because of company mismanagement and/or improper disclosure of its financial prospects. Because a single investor many not be able to sue the company individually, multiple investors may be able to bring a case representing the interest of all investors.
If you have questions concerning your legal interests when it comes to securities class action litigation, please contact Gary S. Graifman, Esq., at Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C., at 1-(800) 711-5258, or send us an email or fill out the contact form on our website.
Kantrowitz, Goldhamer & Graifman, P.C. – Class Action Lawyers
