NEW YORK, May 16, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Wechsler Harwood LLP: Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of all purchasers of the common stock of Sara Lee Corporation (NYSE:SLE) ("Sara Lee" or the "Company") from August 1, 2002 through April 24, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period").
The case is currently pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, against defendants and certain of its officers and directors alleging violations of the Federal Securities Laws. A copy of the Complaint is available from the Court or can be viewed on Wechsler Harwood web site at: www.whesq.com.
The Complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, by issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market between August 1, 2002 and April 24, 2003, thereby artificially inflating the price of Sara Lee securities. In particular, the Complaint alleges that the statements were materially false and misleading because they failed to disclose: (a) that, despite the Company Reshaping program, the Company was still burdened with numerous poorly performing businesses and would have to reevaluate its various businesses. Accordingly, Sara Lee did not have "the right mix of businesses" in that several material businesses were "not growing" or were "in significant decline;" (b) that the Company's underperforming businesses were causing the Company to experience declining results, and as a result, the Company would not be growing at the rates represented to the market; (c) due to a lack of proper internal or financial controls, Sara Lee failed to identify or recognize those businesses or brands among its portfolio of companies that would need to be ``run dramatically differently in the future;'' and (d) based on the foregoing, Sara Lee lacked any reasonable basis upon which to project that it (i) would experience "double-digit operating income increase" for fiscal 2003 among its "five lines of business" or (ii) have diluted EPS for fiscal year 2003 in the range of $1.54 to $1.60.
On April 24, 2003, Sara Lee shocked the market when it issued a press release announcing its financial results for the third quarter, the period ending March 31, 2003. The Company announced that it was reducing earnings for fiscal 2003 to $1.50 to $1.52 per share, significantly below consensus expectations of $1.59. In response to this announcement, the price of Sara Lee common stock dropped by 10%. During the Class Period, Sara Lee insiders sold more than $23 million of their personally-held Sara Lee common stock to the unsuspecting public.
If you bought Sara Lee publicly traded securities within the Class Period and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than July 14, 2003. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following:
Wechsler Harwood LLP 488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400
David Leifer, Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations Department: dleifer@whesq.com extension 251.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca