Merrill Lynch Co. and Henry BlodgetOn behalf of investors in more than twenty internet stocks, lawsuits were brought against Merrill Lynch and its former “star” Internet sector analyst Henry Blodget beginning in April 2002. The lawsuits allege that Merrill Lynch and Blodget issued false and misleading analyst research reports on Internet companies as part of a scheme to earn lucrative investment banking business from those and other companies. In July 2003, Judge Milton Pollack of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed two test cases on behalf of purchasers of 24/7 Real Media, Inc. stock and Interliant, Inc. stock. Additional actions were dismissed following the initial ruling. An appeal of the dismissal of the first test cases was argued by Herbert Milstein, the firm’s senior securities attorney and one of the Co-Chairs of Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee of Counsel, in August 2004. In January 2005, Judge Pollack's decision was affirmed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. A settlement of 20 actions against Merrill Lynch has recently been approved. The settlement calls for the payment of a total of $125 million by Merrill Lynch to settle the actions listed below, plus interest. To participate in the settlement, you must submit a proof of claim and release. You should also review the notice of settlement carefully to understand your rights. Those documents can be found to the right on this page. The settlements cover: ALL PERSONS WHO PURCHASED THE COMMON STOCK (OR DEPOSITORY RECEIPTS) OF THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES DURING THE PERIODS LISTED BELOW OR WHO PURCHASED, IN A PRIVATE PLACEMENT, QUOKKA SPORTS, INC. 7% CONVERTIBLE SUBORDINATED PROMISSORY NOTES DUE SEPTEMBER 15, 2005: Company | Ticker Symbol | Class Period | Aether Systems | AETH | 11/15/1999-2/7/2001 | B2B Internet HOLDRs Trust | BHH | 2/24/2000-4/8/2002 | CMGI, Inc. | CMGI | 3/23/1999-11/14/2000 | Doubleclick, Inc. | DCLK | 11/29/1999-4/15/2001 | ETOYS, Inc. | ETYS | 6/17/1999-11/8/2000 | EXCITE@HOME | ATHM | 6/7/1999-4/26/2001 | Exodus Communications, Inc. | EXDS | 12/8/1999-6/19/2001 | GoTo.com, Inc. | GOTO | 1/11/2001-6/6/2001 | Homestore.com, Inc. | HOMS | 9/8/1999-9/21/2001 | InfoSpace, Inc. | INSP | 12/6/1999-1/22/2001 | Internet Architecture HOLDRs Trust | IAH | 2/24/2000-4/8/2002 | Internet Capital Group, Inc. | ICGE | 8/30/1999-11/8/2000 | Internet HOLDRs Trust | HHH | 9/23/1999-4/8/2002 | Internet Infrastructure HOLDRs Trust | IIH | 2/24/2000-4/8/2002 | iVillage, Inc. | IVIL | 11/9/1999-5/7/2001 | Lifeminders Inc. | LFMN | 9/28/2000-1/31/2001 | Looksmart, Ltd. | LOOK | 5/25/2000-1/11/2001 | Openwave Systems, Inc. | OPWV | 10/16/2000-8/13/2001 | PETS.COM, INC. | IPET | 3/8/2000-11/7/2000 | Quokka Sports, Inc. | QKKA | 8/23/1999-1/9/2001 |
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