A multi-national notification program has begun, as ordered by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, to alert investors, brokers, financial institutions, and other nominees who bought the common stock and/or bonds of Parmalat Finanziaria S.p.A. and its subsidiaries and affiliates from January 5, 1999 through and including December 18, 2003 about a partial settlement of a class action.
The lawsuit alleges that Parmalat and numerous other defendants participated in a fraudulent financial scheme, resulting in the understatement of Parmalat's debt and the overstatement of its net assets. Parmalat ultimately filed for bankruptcy, and the value of its securities declined.
The partial settlement resolves the case against Parmalat S.p.A. and will result in Parmalat providing 10,500,000 shares of stock in the Parmalat company that has emerged from reorganization proceedings in Italy. That stock will then either be sold, and money paid to Class members, or the stock will be distributed among Class Members.
Parmalat agreed to provide 10,500,000 shares in the reorganized Parmalat company to compensate Class members and to pay attorneys' fees, expenses and administrative costs. The Court defined "Class members" in the settlement to include all people and entities who bought Parmalat common stock and/or bonds from January 5, 1999 through and including December 18, 2003, and were damaged thereby, regardless of where such people live or where they purchased their Parmalat securities.
