Sirtex in sights of shareholders launching class action
PERTH, 31 July 2017: Australia’s largest litigation funder IMF Bentham is teaming up with Australia’s leading class action law firm, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers for a potential class action on behalf of shareholders in Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX:SRX).
Online registrations are now open for aggrieved shareholders wishing to participate in the action http://www.imf.com.au/sirtex. IMF’s funding of the proposed class action is conditional on sufficient Sirtex shareholders with claims signing funding agreements with IMF.
Shareholders suffered a 37 per cent price drop following Sirtex’s shock announcement on 9 December 2016 of deteriorating earnings and sales growth, and a further 9 per cent price drop when Sirtex subsequently announced an investigation into the share trading activities of then-CEO Gilman Wong. Mr Wong sold 74,968 Sirtex shares in October 2016, and following the investigation, Sirtex terminated his employment.
The proposed shareholder class action will allege contraventions of the ASIC Act, Corporations Act and the Australian Consumer Law in seeking to establish that the company engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and/or breached its continuous disclosure obligations.
National Head of Class Actions at Maurice Blackburn, Andrew Watson said the events were deeply troubling.
“We’ve investigated this potential matter for some time now, and it appears the company has serious questions to answer about its conduct and that of the then CEO,” Mr Watson said.
“When a CEO dumps more than $2 million worth of stock shortly before the company releases a surprise announcement of a severe decline in earnings and sales growth, and investors then suffer a 37 per cent share price dive off the back of that, it immediately rings alarm bells about compliance with continuous disclosure laws.”
Wayne Attrill, Senior Investment Manager at litigation funder IMF Bentham, said proper corporate conduct standards are crucial to the integrity of the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) and the ongoing confidence of investors.
“Sirtex’s conduct warrants serious scrutiny and shareholders expect the company to be accountable,” Mr Attrill said.
If shareholders purchased Sirtex shares between 24 August to 19 December 2016, they may be eligible to participate and can register via the IMF website (http://www.imf.com.au/sirtex).
Media Information: John Gardner, Citadel-MAGNUS, +61 413 355 997