HAGENS BERMAN, NATIONAL TRIAL ATTORNEYS, Updates GRPN, SERV Investors, Encourages Investors with Losses to Contact Firm, Reminds of Critical Upcoming Deadlines

SAN FRANCISCO, May 11, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman updates investors in the following publicly-traded companies and urges investors who have suffered significant losses to contact the firm.  Further details about the cases, including upcoming application deadlines, can be found at the links provided.

GRPN Investors Click Here. 
SERV Investors Click Here. 

Groupon, Inc. (GRPN) Securities Class Action:

The litigation concerns the veracity of Groupon’s and senior executives’ statements about the company’s Goods business.

More specifically, according to the complaint, on Nov. 4, 2019 CEO Rich Williams assured investors in connection with announcing Groupon’s Q3 2019 financial results that despite challenges from traffic and international macroeconomic conditions the company and its senior executives believed they had “the right strategy in place to deliver on the promise of our marketplace.”  In addition, Defendants reaffirmed their FY 2019 outlook for adjusted EBITDA of approximately $270 million.

Investors began to learn the truth, according to the complaint, on Feb. 18, 2020, after the market closed, when Groupon reported adjusted EBITDA for FY 2019 of $227.2 million, or almost 16% lower than previously reaffirmed.  CEO Williams blamed the shortfall on problems within the company’s Goods business and admitted “[m]idway through the fourth quarter, it became clear, however, that we were seeing far fewer customers engaged with Goods, and it impacted overall traffic to our site.”

In response to this news, the price of Groupon shares crashed about 44% lower on Feb. 19, 2020.

Soon after, on Mar. 25, 2020, the company abruptly announced CEO Williams and COO Steve Krenzer are “no longer serving” in those executive positions.

ServiceMaster (SERV) Securities Class Action:

The complaint concerns Defendants’ concealment of the financial risks presented to ServiceMaster’s Terminix business arising from Formosan: an invasive termite impacting the Gulf Coast region, particularly Mobile, Alabama.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants represented that ServiceMaster was successfully executing upon initiatives to improve the performance in the Terminix segment. In addition, Defendants stated that Terminix would reach a positive “inflection point” and was “definitely the driver” for positive trends in the second half of 2019. Unbeknownst to investors, however, in the past several years the Terminix segment had experienced an adverse trend of costly termite litigation, primarily related to Formosan activity.

Investors began to learn the truth, according to the complaint, when the company announced disappointing preliminary Q3 2019 financial results on Oct. 22, 2019.  Defendants blamed the poor performance on “termite damage claims arising primarily from Formosan termite activity” primarily in Mobile, Alabama.  Defendants also announced (1) this was a known issue and the company commenced mitigation efforts “starting in 2018,” and (2) the President of Terminix Residential suddenly departed.

Then, on Nov. 5, 2019, ServiceMaster released its final Q3 2019 financial results, informing investors that (1) the increase in termite claims litigation that occurred “[i]n the past few years” impacted termite revenue by 7-8%, (2) these issues would continue throughout 2020, and (3) price increases in Mobile were part of an effort to “mitigate” termite damage claims.

These disclosures have driven the price of ServiceMaster shares sharply lower.

Whistleblowers:  Persons with non-public information regarding GRPN and/or SERV should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program.  Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC.  For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email GRPN@hbsslaw.com, and/or SERV@hbsslaw.com.

About Hagens Berman
Hagens Berman is a national law firm with nine offices in eight cities around the country and eighty attorneys.  The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation.  More about the firm and its successes is located at hbsslaw.com.  For the latest news visit our newsroom or follow us on Twitter at @classactionlaw.

Contact:
Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895