NEW YORK, March 15, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The deadline for purchasers of TV Azteca, S.A. de C.V. ("TV Azteca" or the "Company") (NYSE:TZA) 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 TV Azteca publicly traded securities during the period between October 6, 2003 and January 7, 2004, 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 New York by March 23, 2004. 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.cauleygeller.com/show_case.asp?ccode=224&pcode=10&pp=4.
The complaint, filed by a client of Cauley Geller Bowman & Rudman, LLP, charges that during the Class Period defendants failed to disclose certain related-party transactions between a privately held company jointly owned by the Company's Chairman, Ricardo Salinas Pliego ("Salinas") and the Company's President, M. Saba Masri ("Saba") and one of the Company's affiliates -- Unefon Corporacion RBS ("Unefon") a wireless telecommunications provider in Mexico. Specifically, the complaint alleges that defendants denied any affiliation with a "white-knight" group of investors that had saved Unefon from bankruptcy back in June of 2002. Defendants stonewalled disclosure of the true facts, including ignoring advice from their securities lawyers in the U.S., until a spin-off of Unefon was completed in December 2002. The spin-off anticipated that Unefon's shares would be registered to trade in the U.S. markets facilitating a merger with Salinas' other telecommunications holdings.
Then, on January 9, 2004, defendants stunned the markets by admitting that the "white-knight" investors were in fact Salinas and Saba who made a profit of $218 million when their privately held company bought Unefon's debt for $107 million and then sold it back for $325 million.
Market reaction to defendants' belated disclosures was severe. By January 12, 2003, the first day of trading following the Company's admission the price of TV Azteca securities fell more than 14.9 percent in value to close at $7.76 per share in heavy trading volume.
If you bought TV Azteca publicly traded securities between October 6, 2003 and January 7, 2004, inclusive, and you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than March 23, 2004. If you are a member of this class, you can join this class action online at http://www.cauleygeller.com/template8.asp?pcode=6&pp=1. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through Cauley Geller or other counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
Cauley Geller is a national law firm that represents investors and consumers in class action and corporate governance litigation. It is one of the country's premiere firms in the area of securities fraud, with in house finance and forensic accounting specialists and extensive trial experience. Since its founding, Cauley Geller has recovered in excess of two billion dollars on behalf of aggrieved shareholders. The firm maintains offices in Boca Raton, Little Rock and New York.
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.cauleygeller.com.