NEW YORK, July 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- The law firm of Wechsler Harwood LLP ("Wechsler Harwood") announced that it filed a class action lawsuit on July 14, 2005 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of Lazard, Ltd. ("Lazard" or the "Company") (NYSE:LAZ) pursuant and/or traceable to the Company's false and misleading Registration Statement/Prospectus (the "Prospectus"), together with those who purchased their shares in the open market between May 4, 2005 and May 12, 2005 inclusive (the "Class Period") against defendants Lazard and certain officers of the Company.
The complaint alleges that defendants violated the federal securities laws by issuing materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period that had the effect of artificially inflating the market price of the Company's securities. The complaint alleges that Lazard, Goldman Sachs & Co. ("Goldman") (the lead underwriter of Lazard's initial public offering (the "IPO")), and certain of the Company's officers and directors violated the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing a materially false and misleading Prospectus in connection with the Company's IPO, which was priced at $25 per share, and continuing to conceal material facts about the true value of the Company's stock price after the stock began to trade on the open market.
The complaint specifically alleges that (a) the basis for the $25 price for shares sold in the IPO was to enable defendant Bruce Wasserstein (the Company's Chief Executive Officer) to raise sufficient funds to gain control of the Company from Michel David Weill ("David Weill"), a cousin of the Company's founders; (b) that prior to the IPO, market demand had indicated that the proper price for the IPO was only $22 per share; (c) that to "create a market" and thereby manufacture an appearance that Lazard's IPO was fairly and properly priced, Goldman arranged to sell millions of shares to hedge funds with side agreements that they could immediately "flip the shares" and that Goldman would immediately buy them back; (d) that the Prospectus had failed to adequately and fully comply with S-K Item 505 which requires a prospectus to describe "the various factors considered in determining the offering price" when common shares without an established public trading market are being registered; and (e) that, in violation of Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, the Registration Statement/Prospectus failed to disclose that Gerardo Braggiotti, the Company's deputy Chairman in Europe and a major rainmaker of new business for the Company, who had only supported the IPO because of a promise (which was later reneged on) that he would be appointed as head of Lazard's European operations, was likely to leave Lazard and/or cause turmoil within the organization as he opposed the IPO and opposed defendant Wasserstein's purchase of David-Weill's shares.
This scheme: (I) deceived the investing public regarding Lazard's business, operations, management and the intrinsic value of Lazard common stock; (ii) enabled the defendants to raise $855 million in the Company's IPO; (iii) enabled the defendants to raise $1.1 billion in equity security units issued by the Company; (iv) enabled defendant Wasserstein to acquire David-Weill's shares using the proceeds received in the IPO; and (v) caused plaintiff and other members of the Class to purchase Lazard publicly traded securities at artificially inflated prices.
On May 12, 2005, only days after the IPO, and right after Goldman stopped buying back the Company's shares, the price of the Company's shares plunged from $25 per share to less than $21 per share.
If you bought or otherwise acquired the securities of Lazard during the Class Period and sustained damages, you may, no later than August 15, 2005, request that the Court appoint you as lead plaintiff. A lead plaintiff is a representative party that acts on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. In order to be appointed lead plaintiff, the court must determine that the class member's claim is typical of the claims of other class members, and that the class member will adequately represent the class. Under certain circumstances, one or more class members may together serve as "lead plaintiff." Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. The requirements for serving as a lead plaintiff are set forth in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. Sections 77z-1, 78u-4).
Wechsler Harwood has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded shareholders. The Wechsler Harwood website (www.whesq.com) has more information about the firm and detailed information regarding this matter. If you wish to discuss this action with us, including possible claims under the Securities Act, or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights and interests with regard to the case, please contact the following:
Wechsler Harwood LLP 488 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor New York, New York 10022 Toll Free Telephone: (877) 935-7400 Virgilio Soler, Jr. Wechsler Harwood Shareholder Relations Department: vsoler@whesq.com