NEW YORK, July 31, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Bernstein
Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP ("BLB&G") today announced
that it filed a securities class action lawsuit on behalf of its
client City of Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees'
Retirement Trust ("Miami Retirement Trust") against Venator
Materials PLC ("Venator" or the "Company") (NYSE: VNTR),
and certain of the Company's senior executives, the Company's
controlling shareholder, Venator's Board of Directors, and the lead
underwriters of the Company's Offerings (collectively,
"Defendants"). The action, which is captioned City of
Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees' Retirement
Trust v. Venator Materials PLC, No. 1:19-cv-07182
(S.D.N.Y.), asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") on behalf of
investors in Venator ordinary shares during the time period of
August 2, 2017 and October 29, 2018, inclusive (the "Class
Period"). The action also asserts claims under Sections 11,
12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 ("Securities Act")
on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired
Venator ordinary shares in or traceable to the Company's
initial public offering of ordinary shares conducted on or around
August 3, 2017 (the "IPO"),
and secondary public offering of ordinary shares conducted on
or around December 4, 2017 (the
"SPO," and together with the IPO, the "Offerings").
Venator was previously organized as the Pigments & Additives
division within Huntsman Corporation ("Huntsman"), a multinational
manufacturer of chemical products. In August 2017, Huntsman offered shares of Venator
to the public through an initial public offering ("IPO").
Months earlier, however, on January 30,
2017, a fire had ravaged one of Venator's key chemical
manufacturing plants located in Pori, Finland.
The Complaint alleges that in connection with its IPO and its
December 2017 secondary stock
offering, and continuing throughout the Class Period, Defendants
misrepresented the true extent of the fire damage to Venator's Pori
facility, the cost to rehabilitate the facility, and the impact on
Venator's business and operations. The Company also assured
investors that the Pori facility would be rebuilt with insurance
proceeds within its policy limits. Throughout the Class
Period, Venator and its executives continued to assure investors
that the rebuild of the Pori facility was on track and that the
Company would be able to fully recoup the production capacity lost
in the fire. As a result of these misrepresentations, Venator
shares traded at artificially inflated prices throughout the Class
Period.
The truth began to emerge on July 31,
2018, when Venator revealed that the fire damage at the Pori
facility was far more extensive than Defendants had previously
represented to investors. Specifically, Venator announced
that the cost to repair the facility had climbed to more than
$375 million above the insurance
policy limits, more than double the amount disclosed to investors
just two months after the IPO. On this news, the price of
Venator shares declined from $15.35
per share to $14.62 per share.
Then, on September 12, 2018,
Venator announced that it was abandoning the Pori facility
altogether, despite the Company's previous assurances that the site
would be repaired and restored back to its full operating
capacity. The Company also revealed that the facility was
still only operating at 20% capacity and thus had not increased
production by any meaningful amount during the thirteen months
since the IPO. During an investor conference call held later
that same day, Venator's Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), Defendant
Simon Turner, admitted that the
Company had misrepresented the true extent of the fire
damage. When asked by an analyst whether Venator had provided
a "misestimate of the initial amount of damage from the fire" and
whether "the actual work that needed to be done was missed," CEO
Turner agreed that "it was a combination of factors, both of which,
you've mentioned already." These disclosures caused the price
of Venator shares to decline from $11.35 per share to $10.81 per share.
Finally, on October 30, 2018,
Venator announced that, in addition to the over $500 million in costs and lost business
associated with the Pori fire incurred to date, the Company
incurred a restructuring expense of approximately $415 million and would incur additional "charges
of $220 million through the end of
2024" related to the Pori site. As a result of these
disclosures, the Company's stock price declined from $8.00 per share to $6.47 per share, or more than 19%.
A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available on
BLB&G's website at www.blbglaw.com.
If you wish to serve as Lead Plaintiff for the Class, you must
file a motion with the Court no later than September 30, 2019, which is the first business
day on which the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
New York is open that is 60 days
after the publication date of July
31, 2019. Any member of the proposed Class may move
the Court to serve as Lead Plaintiff through counsel of their
choice. Members may also choose to do nothing and remain part
of the proposed Class.
Miami Retirement Trust is represented by BLB&G, a firm of
over 100 attorneys with offices in New
York, California,
Louisiana, Illinois, and Delaware. If you wish to
discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or
your rights or interests, please contact Avi Josefson of BLB&G at 212-554-1493, or
via e-mail at avi@blbglaw.com.
Since its founding in 1983, BLB&G has built an international
reputation for excellence and integrity. Specializing in
securities fraud, corporate governance, shareholders' rights,
employment discrimination, and civil rights litigation, among other
practice areas, BLB&G prosecutes class and private actions on
behalf of institutional and individual clients worldwide.
Unique among its peers, BLB&G has obtained several of the
largest and most significant securities recoveries in history,
recovering billions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors.
More information about BLB&G can be found online at
www.blbglaw.com.
CONTACT:
Avi Josefson
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
1251 Avenue of the Americas, 44th Floor
New York, New York 10020
(212) 554-1493
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bernstein-litowitz-berger--grossmann-llp-announces-securities-class-action-suit-filed-against-venator-materials-plc-and-certain-of-its-senior-executives-its-controlling-shareholder-its-board-of-directors-and-the-lead-underwrit-300894572.html
SOURCE Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP