Titan Corporation Files Lawsuit to Halt Short Sellers' Scheme
SAN DIEGO, Aug. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- The Titan Corporation (NYSE: TTN - news) announced that it filed a lawsuit today to stop a scheme by unscrupulous short sellers to drive down the price of Titan stock from $44 3/4 a share on May 1, 2000 to $21 a share on August 22, 2000. Titan claims in the lawsuit that short sellers are posting anonymous messages on Internet bulletin boards, issuing anonymous false reports, and are using the media to spread false statements and rumors about the company that caused Titan stock to dramatically plunge. The recent case of Emulex losing over $2 billion in market value within 15 minutes of the distribution of a false press release is another example of the ongoing abuse of rapid distribution of disinformation through technology for illegal gain. The suit seeks damages and an injunction against further securities manipulation.
Gene W. Ray, Chairman, President, and CEO of Titan said, ``Titan has drawn a line in the sand. We will protect the interest of our shareholders. Titan will not tolerate irresponsible and illegal manipulation of its stock.''
Titan has retained Los Angeles attorneys Marshall B. Grossman and Michael A. Sherman of the Los Angeles law firm Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan LLP to prosecute the lawsuit. According to Grossman, ``Titan will smoke out and expose the short sellers who wreak havoc in the lives of investors and force them to disgorge their ill-gotten gains. We will follow their trail from the birth of their schemes into the trading rooms. We will remove their cloak of anonymity so that the world will see how these operators spread false information on Internet bulletin boards and through the guise of so-called 'analysts' reports as well as through the financial media.''
According to the lawsuit: on May 1, 2000, Titan shares closed at 44 3/4 a share. During the first half of May, the short sellers schemed to drive the price of Titan shares down. By May 25, the price of Titan shares dropped precipitously and closed below $28 a share. By June 20, the shares rebounded and closed above $44 a share. The defendants then conspired to drive the price of the shares down once again. On August 7, 2000, the share price closed below $29 a share and continued its slide to trade below $21 a share on August 22, 2000. The market loss to shareholders between June 20, 2000 and August 22, 2000 was a staggering 50% or $1.3 Billion.
As a result of its own investigation, Titan has identified some three dozen screen names used by apparent short sellers to spread false information over the Internet. Upon the filing of the lawsuit, the court took the unusual step of issuing a subpoena to require Yahoo to turn over its records showing the identity of those who posted those bogus messages.
Headquartered in San Diego, California, The Titan Corporation creates, builds and launches technology-based businesses, offering innovative technical solutions. Three of Titan's four core businesses develop and deploy communications and information technology solutions and services. In addition, Titan markets the leading technology for the electronic pasteurization of food products and is continually identifying promising technologies suitable for commercialization. Titan has 7,600 employees, annualized sales of approximately $1 billion and total backlog in excess of $2.2 billion.
``Safe Harbor'' Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts, including our ability to identify the short sellers and prove the material allegations of our complaint as well as our ability to obtain remedies against the defendants, are forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include the risks inherent in any litigation and other risks described in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.
For more information, please contact: Wil Williams, VP Corporate Communications of The Titan Corporation, 858-552-9724, wwilliams@titan.com; or Robin Gerber of RGA, Inc., 310-209-5678, ext. 222, or cell, 310-413-2801, rgerber@rgacorp.com.
SOURCE: The Titan Corporation
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