TMCnet News
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP Files Class Action Suit against Newell Brands Inc.Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP ("Robbins Geller") (http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/newell/) today announced that a class action has been commenced by an institutional investor on behalf of purchasers of Newell Brands Inc. ("Newell") (NYSE:NWL) common stock during the period between February 6, 2017 and January 24, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action was filed in the District of New Jersey and is captioned Bucks County Employees Retirement Fund v. Newell Brands Inc., et al., No. 18-cv-10878. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Robbins Geller at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at [email protected]. If you are a member of this class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed at http://www.rgrdlaw.com/cases/newell/. Any member of the putative classmay move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. The complaint charges Newell and certain of its officers and/or directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Newell is a global manufacturer and marketer of name-brand consumer products. In April 2016, Newell Rubbermaid, whose brands included Paper Mate®, Sharpie®, Rawlings®, Lenox®, Sunbeam®, Graco® and Rubbermaid®, acquired Jarden Corporation ("Jarden"), a global consumer products company whose brands included Crock-Pot®, FoodSaver®, Mr. Coffee®, Oster®, Coleman®, K2®, Marker® and Marmot®. The combined company was renamed Newell Brands Inc. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made materially false and misleading statements and/or failed to disclose adverse information regarding Newell's business and prospects. Specifically, defendants misrepresented and/or failed to disclose the following adverse facts, among others: (i) the Company's retail channel was loaded with extremely high levels of unsold Newell product; (ii) contrary to defendants' representations, the build-up of Newell inventory in the retail channel was due to Company-specific rather than macroeconomic reasons; (iii) as a result of the unusually high levels of unsold inventory in the retail channel, Newell was exposed to a heightened risk that it would experience slower sales growth in future periods; and (iv) undisclosed managerial and cultural differences in the legacy Newell and Jarden businesses had created significant internal discord that was having a material adverse effect on the Company's operating performance. As a result of defendants' failure to disclose this adverse information, the price of Newell common stock was artificially inflated during the Class Period to more than $55.00 per share. On November 2, 2017, Newell announced disappointing 2017 third quarter financial results. During the related earnings call, defendants disclosed that Newell's "disappointing outcome" and materially lower core sales growth were due to "retailers pull[ing] back on order rates and rebalanced inventories" to help clear the known, but previously undisclosed, bloated build-up of Newell inventory in the retail channel. On this news, the price of Newell stock fell approximately 27%, or $10.99 per share, to close at $30.01 per share. Then, on January 25, 2018, Newell preannounced its 2017 financial results. The Company stated that it anticipated 2017 core sales growth of approximately 0.8% versus previous guidance of 1.5% to 2.0% (implying negative 2.0% organic sales growth during the 2017 fourth quarter), due, in part, to continued retailer inventory destocking. The Company also announced it was exploring "strategic options" to significantly restructure its business by divesting industrial and commercial assets, which was expected to result in a 50% reduction in both the Company's customer base and its global factory and warehouse footprint. The same day, Newell announced that three members of its Board had resigned. In response to these revelations, the price of Newell common stock fell approximately 21%, or $6.42 per share, to close at $24.81 per share on January 25, 2018. Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Newell common stock during the Class Period (the "Class"). The plaintiff is represented by Robbins Geller, which has extensive experience in prosecuting investor class actions including actions involving financial fraud. Robbins Geller is one of the world's leading law firms representing investors in securities litigation. With 200 lawyers in 10 offices, Robbins Geller has obtained many of the largest securities class action recoveries in history. For five consecutive years, ISS Securities Class Action Services has ranked the Firm in its annual SCAS Top 50 Report as one of the top law firms in both amount recovered for shareholders and total number of class action settlements. Robbins Geller attorneys have helped shape the securities laws and recovered tens of billions of dollars on behalf of aggrieved victims. Beyond securing financial recoveries for defrauded investors, Robbins Geller also specializes in implementing corporate governance reforms, helping to improve the financial markets for investors worldwide. Please visit http://www.rgrdlaw.com for more information. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180621006285/en/ |
