ATLANTA, April 24, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Chitwood & Harley LLP announces that it has filed the first class action complaint on behalf of purchasers of securities of KONINKLIJKE AHOLD N.V. d/b/a ROYAL AHOLD, Inc. ("AHOLD" or the "Company") (NYSE:AHO) from March 10, 1998 through February 21, 2003, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The suit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York under Civil Action Number 03CV2847. The suit is against AHOLD, certain of its officers and directors, and its subsidiary, U.S. Foodservice, Inc. You may obtain a copy of the expanded class period complaint from the court or by contacting Lauren Antonino, Esq. through email at lsa@classlaw.com or by calling our toll free number, 1-888-873-3999, ext. 6888.
During the Class Period, defendants issued many statements and filed reports with the SEC which depicted the Company's sales, operating results, earnings, and financial performance. The complaint alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because: (1) AHOLD had reported the full revenues and operating results of several joint ventures in which the company held non-controlling interests, in contravention of applicable accounting rules; (2) AHOLD had significantly overstated its operating earnings for its U.S. Foodservice division. The complaint further alleges that the Company lacked sufficient internal controls resulting in an inability to determine the true financial condition of AHOLD, which led to the value of the Company's sales, operating results, earnings, and financial results being materially overstated at all pertinent times.
On February 24, 2003, before the market opened for trading, AHOLD announced that it discovered over $500 million in "overstatements of income related to promotional allowance programs," which will require the Company to restate its previously-issued financial reports for fiscal years 2001 and 2002. On this day, the Company also announced that it would restate its historical financial statements so as to proportionally consolidated under GAAP ICA Ahold, Jeronimo Martins Retail and Disco Ahold International Holdings and, for the periods during which they were 50% owned, Bompreco and Paiz Ahold. On the day of this disclosure, shares of AHOLD declined over 60%, to close at $4.16 per share, on volume of more than 16 million shares traded, or nearly thirty times the average daily volume. The market capitalization loss on this one day alone was over $4 billion.
As previously announced, the deadline to file lead plaintiff papers, for those class members wishing to serve in this capacity, is April 28, 2003. There are certain legal requirements to serve as lead plaintiff, which we would be happy to discuss with you. Any member of the purported class may 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. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights with respect to this matter, you may contact Lauren Antonino at 1-888-873-3999, ext. 6888 (toll-free) or by e-mail at lsa@classlaw.com. You may also contact us through our website at www.classlaw.com by clicking on AHOLD.
Chitwood & Harley LLP is a class action firm that concentrates its practice in representing victims of securities fraud and corporate mismanagement, as well as other complex litigation. Chitwood & Harley has been appointed lead counsel in major actions throughout the United States and has been instrumental in recovering billions of dollars on behalf of its clients. Clients and courts alike have praised the results achieved by Chitwood & Harley. Recently, the federal judge in In re BankAmerica Securities Litigation, which resulted in the highest recovery last year in a securities class action, commented favorably on counsel's performance stating: "Class members were well served by experienced attorneys who, through considerable time and effort, obtained a significant recovery for their clients," and, "(a)s the Court has remarked throughout this litigation, class counsel ... have performed at exceptionally high levels, and all parties have been exceedingly well represented."
For more information about Chitwood & Harley, please visit our website at www.classlaw.com or contact Lauren Antonino at 1-888-873-3999.ext 6888 (toll-free), by e-mail at lsa@classlaw.com or at 1230 Peachtree Street, Suite 2300, Atlanta, Georgia 30309.
More information on this and other class actions can be found on the Class Action Newsline at www.primezone.com/ca