Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP Announces Class Periods For Shareholder Lawsuits Against Several Companies Who Recently Issued IPOs -- OGNC, WFII, EXPE, ZTEL


BALA CYNWYD, Pa., July 17, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP announced today that it recently filed lawsuits against Organic, Inc., Wireless Facilities, Inc., Expedia, Inc. and Z-Tel Technologies, Inc. for violations of the federal securities laws.

If you purchased the securities of any of the companies listed below during the respective class periods, you may be a member of the class and have until the date specified to move the court to become the lead plaintiff. For more information on a particular lawsuit and to view the complaint, you may visit our Website at www.sbclasslaw.com. To learn more about your rights and interests in these cases and your ability to potentially recoup your losses, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway directly at (888) 299-7706 (toll free) or (610) 667-7706, fax number (610) 667-7056 or by e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.

ORGANIC, INC. (Nasdaq:OGNC) (Class Period: 02/09/00 - 12/06/00). The complaint charges Organic and certain of its officers and directors with issuing false and misleading statements concerning its business and financial condition. Specifically, the complaint alleges that on or about February 9, 2000, Organic commenced an initial public offering of 5,500,000 of its shares of common stock at an offering price of $20 per share (the "Organic IPO"). In connection therewith, Organic filed a registration statement, which incorporated a prospectus (the "Prospectus"), with the SEC. The complaint further alleges that the Prospectus was materially false and misleading because it failed to disclose, among other things, that: (i) Goldman Sachs & Co. ("Goldman Sachs"), Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated ("Merrill Lynch") and Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. ("Salomon") had solicited and received excessive and undisclosed commissions from certain investors in exchange for which Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Salomon allocated to those investors material portions of the restricted number of Organic shares issued in connection with the Organic IPO; and (ii) Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Salomon had entered into agreements with customers whereby Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and Salomon agreed to allocate Organic shares to those customers in the Organic IPO in exchange for which the customers agreed to purchase additional Organic shares in the aftermarket at pre-determined prices. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lead plaintiff motion must be filed no later than July 31, 2001.

WIRELESS FACILITIES, INC. (Nasdaq:WFII) (Class Period: 11/04/99 - 12/06/00). The complaint charges Wireless Facilities and certain of its officers and directors with issuing false and misleading statements concerning its business and financial condition. Specifically, the complaint alleges that on or about February 9, 2000, Wireless Facilities commenced an initial public offering of 4 million of its shares of common stock at an offering price of $15 per share (the "Wireless Facilities IPO"). In connection therewith, Wireless Facilities filed a registration statement, which incorporated a prospectus (the "Prospectus"), with the SEC. The complaint alleges that the Prospectus was materially false and misleading because it failed to disclose, among other things, that (i) Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation ("Credit Suisse") had solicited and received excessive and undisclosed commissions from certain investors in exchange for which Credit Suisse allocated to those investors material portions of the restricted number of Wireless Facilities shares issued in connection with the Wireless Facilities IPO; and (ii) Credit Suisse had entered into agreements with customers whereby Credit Suisse agreed to allocate Wireless Facilities shares to those customers in the Wireless Facilities IPO in exchange for which the customers agreed to purchase additional Wireless Facilities shares in the aftermarket at pre-determined prices. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lead plaintiff motion must be filed no later than July 31, 2001.

EXPEDIA, INC. (Nasdaq:EXPE) (Class Period: 11/09/99 - 12/06/00). The complaint charges Expedia and certain of its officers and directors with issuing false and misleading statements concerning its business and financial condition. Specifically, the complaint alleges that on or about November 9, 1999, Expedia commenced an initial public offering of 5,200,000 of its shares of common stock at an offering price of $14 per share (the "Expedia IPO"). In connection therewith, Expedia filed a registration statement, which incorporated a prospectus (the "Prospectus"), with the SEC. The complaint further alleges that the Prospectus was materially false and misleading because it failed to disclose, among other things, that: (i) defendants had solicited and received excessive and undisclosed commissions from certain investors in exchange for which defendants allocated to those investors material portions of the restricted number of Expedia shares issued in connection with the Expedia IPO; and (ii) defendants had entered into agreements with customers whereby defendants agreed to allocate Expedia shares to those customers in the Expedia IPO in exchange for which the customers agreed to purchase additional Expedia shares in the aftermarket at pre-determined prices. As further alleged in the complaint, the SEC is investigating underwriting practices in connection with several other initial public offerings. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lead plaintiff motion must be filed no later than August 6, 2001.

Z-TEL TECHNOLOGIES, INC. (Nasdaq:ZTEL) (Class Period: 12/15/99 - 12/06/00). On or about December 15, 1999, Z-Tel commenced an initial public offering of 6,000,000 of its shares of common stock at an offering price of $17 per share (the "Z-Tel IPO"). In connection therewith, Z-Tel filed a registration statement, which incorporated a prospectus (the "Prospectus") with the SEC. The complaint alleges that the Prospectus was materially false and misleading because it failed to disclose, among other things, that: (i) the Underwriter Defendants (Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation, Bear Stearns & Co. Incorporated, Merrill Lynch and Solomon Smith Barney, Inc.) had solicited and received excessive and undisclosed commissions from certain investors in exchange for which the Underwriter Defendants allocated to those investors material portions of the restricted number of Z-Tel shares issued in connection with the Z-Tel IPO; and (ii) the Underwriter Defendants had entered into agreements with customers whereby the Underwriter Defendants agreed to allocate Z-Tel shares to those customers in the Z-Tel IPO in exchange for which the customers agreed to purchase additional Z-Tel shares in the aftermarket at pre-determined prices. The complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lead plaintiff motion must be filed no later than August 6, 2001.

Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP has prosecuted shareholder class actions for more than 14 years, and has recovered more than $1 billion for investors. If you are a shareholder in any of the companies listed above and would like to be a lead plaintiff in one of these securities class actions, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway at (888) 299-7706.

More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.



            

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