Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik LLP Files Lawsuit Against GSV Asset Management and Two of Its Principals Alleging Fraud on a $278 Million Private Offering of Pre-IPO Twitter Stock


NEW YORK, June 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Continental Advisors, S.A., a Luxembourg-based investment advisory firm, and Precedo Capital Group LLC, an Arizona-based broker-dealer, have filed a lawsuit against GSV Asset Management and two of its partners, Michael Moe and Matthew Hanson, stemming from their involvement in a $278 million private offering of Twitter stock in 2012.  GSV Asset Management is the principal advisor to GSV Capital (Nasdaq:GSVC).

The complaint alleges that in 2012, GSV Asset Management engaged Continental Advisors and Precedo Capital as placement agents to obtain capital commitments from investors with whom they had relationships for the purchase of third party owned pre-IPO Twitter stock.  GSV, Moe, and Hanson are alleged to have pitched the $278 million offering of Twitter stock without having access to the shares they were offering.  The complaint also alleges that GSV claimed to have a right of first refusal agreement with Twitter for the offering of Twitter stock, which Continental and Precedo later learned was false.  At the time of the offering, Twitter was GSV Capital’s largest position.

The complaint further alleges that after Continental and Precedo obtained more than $260 million in commitments, the defendants abruptly canceled the offering before the closing and declined Continental’s and Precedo’s requests to issue a communication to interested investors about the cancelation.  Continental and Precedo seek as damages the amounts they were supposed to receive under their agreements with GSV and the amounts they spent on the investor roadshow.

Continental Advisors and Precedo Capital are represented by Brian H. Brick, Annie E. Causey, Damon Schwartz, and Russell Brown of Napoli Bern Ripka Shkolnik LLP.  The lawsuit is pending in federal district court in Oakland, California as Continental Advisors, et al. v. GSV Asset Management, et al., Case No. 14 Civ. 05609.


            

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