NEW YORK, Jan. 30, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Brualdi Law Firm, P.C. announces that a lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of Bank of America Corp. ("BofA" or the "Company") (NYSE:BAC) common stock during the period between July 21, 2008 and January 20, 2009 (the "Class Period") for violations of the federal securities laws.
No class has yet been certified in the above action. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. If you purchased BofA common stock during the Class Period, and wish to move the court for appointment of lead plaintiff, you must do so by March 22, 2009. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff will be selected from among applicants claiming the largest loss from investment in the Company during the Class Period. You do not need to seek appointment as a lead plaintiff in order to share in any recovery.
To be a member of the class you need not take any action at this time, and you may retain counsel of your choice. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Sue Lee at The Brualdi Law Firm, P.C. 29 Broadway, Suite 2400, New York, New York 10006, by telephone toll free at (877) 495-1187 or (212) 952-0602, by email to slee@brualdilawfirm.com or visit our website at http://www.brualdilawfirm.com.
The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants issued materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business and financial results. Defendants concealed BofA's failure to properly value its mortgage-related assets and engage in proper due diligence in determining the fairness of its proposed merger with Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated ("Merrill Lynch"). As a result of defendants' false statements, BofA's stock traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, reaching a high of $38.13 per share on October 1, 2008, and then retaining value in the $22-$25 per share range even as the stock market collapsed in early October 2008. It was at this time that BofA sold 455 million shares of its common stock at $22 per share in a secondary common stock offering that raised some $10 billion. On December 5, 2008, shareholders of both BofA and Merrill Lynch overwhelmingly approved the merger with Merrill Lynch.
Thereafter, on January 16, 2009, BofA announced its first quarterly loss in 17 years. BofA announced a $1.8 billion loss for the fourth quarter of 2008, citing deeper trading and loan losses. The Company further slashed its dividend from $0.32 to a penny a quarter. In addition to its own losses, BofA reported that Merrill Lynch's preliminary results for the fourth quarter of 2008 indicated a net loss of $15.3 billion. BofA further confirmed that it would receive an additional $20 billion in assistance from the U.S. Government and that the government had agreed to provide guarantees against further Merrill Lynch losses of $118 billion. Over the course of the next several days, the complaint alleges, details began to emerge concerning the truth behind BofA's deal with Merrill Lynch, including the fact that BofA had learned of Merrill Lynch's substantial fourth quarter losses prior to completing its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.
Between January 15 and 20, 2009, as news of BofA's financial position came to light, BofA's stock lost a dramatic 50% of its value, declining from $10.20 per share on January 14, 2009 to close at $5.10 per share on January 20, 2009.