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General Cable Corporation designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes copper, aluminum, and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy, industrial, construction, and specialty and communications markets worldwide.
The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period General Cable and certain of its executive officers made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) General Cable paid millions of dollars in bribes to government officials in foreign countries, including Angola, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Indonesia, India, and Thailand, in order to secure business; (ii) the foregoing conduct was in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”); (iii) General Cable’s revenues were therefore in part the product of illegal conduct, and, as such, subject to disgorgement and unlikely to be sustainable; and (iv) the foregoing conduct, when it became known, would subject the Company to significant regulatory scrutiny and financial penalties. The complaint further alleges that, as a result of the foregoing, General Cable’s statements about its business, operations and prospects were false and misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.
On September 22, 2014, General Cable disclosed that it was reviewing “payment practices,” “the use of agents,” and “the manner in which the payments were reflected on our books and records” in connection with the Company’s operations in Portugal, Angola, Thailand, and India. On this news, shares of the Company’s stock fell $0.93 per share, or 4.7%, to close at $18.96 on September 22, 2014.
Subsequently, on February 10, 2016, General Cable reported that it had increased a disgorgement accrual for a potential FCPA settlement to $33 million after identifying “certain other transactions that may raise concerns.” On this news, shares of the Company’s stock fell an additional $3.05 per share, or 31.6%, to close at $6.60 on February 11, 2016.
Finally, on December 29, 2016, The Wall Street Journal reported that General Cable had entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and “agreed to pay $75.8 million to settle allegations it paid bribes across Africa and Asia and . . . agreed to an additional $6.5 million penalty to settle accounting-related violations.” The article further reported that the Company’s subsidiaries, “over a period of a dozen years, paid about $13 million to third-party agents and distributors,” who in turn “paid bribes to government officials in Angola, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia and Thailand to get business in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.”
If you are a member of the class described above, you may no later than March 6, 2017 move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff of the class, if you so choose.
A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the Court must determine that the class member’s claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Any member of the purported class may move the court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member.
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP has not filed a complaint in this matter. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@ktmc.com.
CONTACT:
Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP
James Maro, Esq. or Adrienne Bell, Esq.
280 King of Prussia Road
Radnor, PA 19087 1-888-299-7706 (toll free) or 1-610-667-7706
Or by e-mail at info@ktmc.com