BALA CYNWYD, Pa., Aug. 28, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- A shareholder sued The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. ("Interpublic" or the "Company") (NYSE:IPG) claiming that the company misled investors about its business and financial condition, as alleged in a complaint filed by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP.
The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and seeks damages for violations of federal securities laws on behalf of all investors who bought The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. securities between October 28, 1997 and August 13, 2002 (the "Class Period").
Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP has prosecuted shareholder class actions for over fourteen years and has recovered more than $1 billion for investors. If you are a shareholder of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. and want to learn more about this lawsuit and about becoming a lead plaintiff, you may visit our website at http://www.sbclasslaw.com/cgi/signup.cgi.
The complaint alleges that the New York-based The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. issued numerous statements and filed quarterly and annual reports with the SEC which described the Company's increasing net income and financial performance. As alleged in the complaint, these statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose and/or misrepresented the following adverse facts, among others: ( i) that, throughout the Class Period, the Company was overstating its net income by failing to expense certain charges which should have been expensed; (ii) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (iii) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated at all relevant times.
On August 5, 2002, Interpublic announced that it would be rescheduling the release of its second quarter 2002 earnings "to accommodate the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors," which was interpreted by the market to potentially involve the Company's accounting. In response to the uncertainty surrounding defendants' announcement, investors sold off shares of Interpublic, which dropped $4.69 per share, or 23.8%, to close at $14.99 per share.
On August 13, 2002, the last day of the Class Period, the nature of the Company's delay of its second quarter 2002 earnings release became evident when the Company announced, among other things, that it had "identified $68.5 million of charges, principally in Europe, which had not been properly expensed," which will cause the company to restate its previously issued financial statements going back to 1997 and prior.
If you purchased The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. securities between October 28, 1997 and August 13, 2002, you may be a member of the class and have until October 14, 2002 to move the court to become a lead plaintiff. To learn more about your rights and interests in this case and your ability to potentially recoup your losses, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway directly at 888-299-7706 (toll free) or 610-822-2221, fax number 610-822-0002, e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com or visit our website at www.sbclasslaw.com.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca