Corn Products InternationalCohen Milstein serves as court-appointed lead counsel for a class of investors who purchased Corn Products International, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPO) (“Corn Products” or the “Company”) securities at artificially inflated prices from January 25, 2005 to April 4, 2005, inclusive (the “Class Period”), pending before Judge James B. Zagel in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The class alleges that Corn Products and certain of its executive officers (collectively “defendants”) violated federal securities laws because defendants knew but failed to tell investors about a host of problems plaguing the Company during the Class Period. For example, the Complaint alleges that the Company and its CEO and CFO knew that the Company’s hedging strategy during the Fall of 2004 was a failure and would erode earnings for a year to come, but they said nothing to investors. The Complaint further alleges that defendants also knew but failed to disclose manufacturing problems at certain facilities that were driving expenses materially higher -- far above internally forecasted levels. Finally, according to the Complaint, in the face of these problems, the defendants possessed no reasonable basis for the positive statements they made about the Company during the Class Period, and in fact, the defendants knew their forward-looking statements were false when made. Then, on April 5, 2005, Corn Products issued a press release before the market opened. That press release rocked the market and sent the Company’s stock price from $25.86 per share to $20.98 per share on very heavy trading volume. The press release disclosed, for the first time, that Corn Products expected its first-quarter earnings to drop by up to forty percent due to the following factors: (i) timing of corn purchases; (ii) increased expenses; and (iii) manufacturing expense problems. The parties signed a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement on May 23, 2007 which provides for a settlement fund of $6.6 million. Judge Zagel preliminarily approved the settlement on June 18, 2007. A fairness hearing was held before Judge Zagel on November 15, 2007, at which Judge Zagel gave final approval to the settlement. To learn more about and/or participate in the Settlement, please review the “Notice of Proposed Settlement of Class Action, Hearing on Proposed Settlement and Attorneys’ Fee Petition, and Right to Share in Settlement Fund” to the right. |
