LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Jan. 11, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- The deadline for purchasers of Brightpoint, Inc. ("Brightpoint" or the "Company") (Nasdaq:CELL) publicly traded securities to move for lead plaintiff in a securities fraud class action recently brought against the Company is rapidly approaching. If you purchased Brightpoint securities between January 28, 1999 and November 14, 2001, inclusive (the "Class Period"), and you wish to be a lead plaintiff in the case, you must move to serve as lead plaintiff by filing a motion in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division by January 29, 2002. A copy of the complaint filed in this action is available from the Court, or can be viewed on the firm's Website at http://www.classlawyer.com/pr/brightpoint.pdf.
The complaint, filed by a client of the Law Firm of Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP, charges Brightpoint and certain of its officers and directors with issuing a series of material misrepresentations to the market before and during the Class Period, thereby artificially inflating the price of Brightpoint common stock. On November 8, 2001, Brightpoint announced that it would restate its 1998, 1999, 2000 and First and Second Quarter 2001 results (i.e. admit that they were materially false) because the Company expensed its insurance premium costs over an extended time period rather than accrued the date the Company entered into the insurance policy. The complaint alleges that as a result, Brightpoint's failure to prepare its financial statements pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles caused Brightpoint's 1998-2Q 2001 income and assets to be materially overstated. The effect of the restatement was significant. Rather than the $239.5 million of Shareholders' Equity the Company reported in 1998, Brightpoint restated this number to $228 million. The restatement revealed that the Company had inflated Shareholders' Equity by $8.71 million in 1999, $6.5 million in 2000, $6 million in the first quarter of 2001 and $5.5 million as of June 30, 2001. 1998 net income per share fell from $0.38 in 1998 to $0.17 after the restatement. The restatement revealed that EPS was inflated by $0.02 in 1999.
If you bought Brightpoint publicly traded securities between January 28, 1999 and November 14, 2001 inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than January 29, 2002. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action online at http://www.classlawyer.com/sign_up.html. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Cauley Geller Bowman & Coates, LLP has substantial experience representing investors in securities fraud class action lawsuits such as this. The firm has offices in Florida, Arkansas and California, but represents investors throughout the nation. If you have any questions about how you may be able to recover for your losses, or if you would like to consider serving as one of the lead plaintiffs in this lawsuit, you are encouraged to call or e-mail the Firm or visit the Firm's Website at www.classlawyer.com.
CAULEY GELLER BOWMAN & COATES, LLP Investor Relations Department: Jackie Addison, Sue Null or Shelly Nicholson P.O. Box 25438 Little Rock, AR 72221-5438 Toll Free: 1-888-551-9944 E-mail: info@classlawyer.com
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca.