BALA CYNWYD, Pa., April 22, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP:
Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of South Dakota on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of NorthWestern Corporation ("NorthWestern" or the "Company") (NYSE:NOR) from August 2, 2000 through March 31, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin & Barroway, LLP (Marc A. Topaz, Esq. or Stuart L. Berman, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbclasslaw.com.
The complaint charges NorthWestern and certain of its executive officers and directors with issuing false and misleading statement concerning its business and financial condition. Specifically the Company failed to disclose that: (a) the Company had not maintained adequate reserves for accounts receivable in its subsidiary, Expanets; (b) massive amounts of the Company's goodwill was impaired and would require significant write-downs; (c) that the Company lacked adequate internal controls and was therefore unable to ascertain the true financial condition of the Company; and (d) that as a result, the value of the Company's net income and financial results were materially overstated.
Subsequently, on April 16, 2003, before the market opened, NorthWestern announced that it would take significant charges for fiscal year 2002 totaling $878.5 million. The breakdown of the charges included: (1) an impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets related to one of the Company's subsidiaries Blue Dot Services, Inc. for $301.7 million, (2) an additional impairment of goodwill and other long-lived assets related to another Company subsidiary Expanets, Inc. for $288.7 million, (3) a charge for discontinued operations for a third subsidiary CornerStone Propane Partners L.P. for a net of tax benefit of $101.7 million, (4) a valuation allowance of a deferred tax asset for $71.5 million, (5) billing adjustments and accounts receivable write-offs related to Expanets equaling $65.8 million, (6) an impairment of the Montana First Megawatts project for $35.7 million, and (7) the retirement of an acquisition term loan, equaling a net of tax benefit of $13.4 million. By the close of trading on April 16, 2003, the share price plummeted to $1.95 per share, 92% down from its Class Period high of $23.53 per share.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of class members and is represented by the law firm of Schiffrin & Barroway, which prosecutes class actions in both state and federal courts throughout the country. Schiffrin & Barroway is a driving force behind corporate governance reform, and has recovered in excess of a billion dollars on behalf of institutional and high net worth individual investors. For more information about Schiffrin & Barroway, or to sign up to participate in this action online, please visit http://www.sbclasslaw.com/currentcases.cfm.
If you are a member of the class described above, you may, not later than May 23, 2003, move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.