SBTK Press Release
Tyco International Ltd. Agrees To Pay $2.975 Billion And To Assign Claims Against Its Auditor, PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Shareholders' Suit To Continue Against PwC.
RADNOR, PA (May 15, 2007) - Tyco International Ltd. ("Tyco") has agreed to immediately fund $2.975 billion in cash to settle securities and accounting fraud claims relating to the Kozlowski era which are presently pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire before Judge Paul Barbadoro. The settlement specifically excludes auditor PriceWaterhouseCoopers ("PwC") and, by the time the settlement will be presented to the Court for final distribution, it will exceed $3 billion in value, inclusive of interest.
The settlement represents the single largest payment from any corporate defendant in the history of securities class action litigation. Investors who purchased or acquired Tyco securities from December 13, 1999 through and including June 7, 2002, are covered by the settlement.
"This is a settlement of historic proportions for the investors who suffered significant financial losses and it also sends a strong message to those who would engage in this type of misconduct in the future," said Richard Schiffrin of Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP, one of the Co-Lead Counsel in the case.
As part of the settlement, Tyco has agreed to assign the claims it has against PwC related to the accounting fraud to the Class, which intends to vigorously pursue both its own claims and the assigned claims. As Tyco's auditor, PwC was in a unique position to uncover the fraud and to prevent the damages to Tyco's shareholders. Instead, PwC is alleged to have failed in its duties as a corporate watchdog. In addition, as Tyco already has its own claims being pursued against certain of the individual defendants, the Class has assigned its claims against Dennis Kozlowski, Frank Walsh and Mark Swartz to Tyco in exchange for receiving a 50% interest in any net recoveries achieved against these non-settling defendants.
Tyco is alleged to have overstated its income during the Class Period by $5.8 billion. Defendants Kozlowski and Swartz have been sentenced to up to 25 years in prison after being convicted of grand larceny, falsification of business records and conspiracy for their roles in the alleged scheme to defraud investors. Defendant Walsh has also pled guilty to committing fraud.
"This litigation was hard-fought throughout and proved to be an extraordinarily complex action to prosecute over these last five years. We are all extremely proud of this result and recovery for the Class, and are determined to aggressively pursue the remaining claims," said Mr. Schiffrin.
The case caption is: In re: Tyco International, Ltd. Multidistrict Litigation
Investors wishing to discuss this class action settlement or having any questions concerning their rights or interests with respect to this matter, please contact Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP (Katharine Ryan, Michael Yarnoff or Darren Check) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or direct dial at 1-610-822-2223, 1-610-822-2203 or 1-610-822-2235, or via e-mail at kryan@sbtklaw.com, myarnoff@sbtklaw.com or dcheck@sbtklaw.com.
Please direct media inquiries to:
Allan Jordan
The Global Consulting Group
Telephone: (646) 2849400
ajordan@hfgcg.com
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