The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board(OTPP)has announced that a US$138 million cash settlement agreement has been reached in the securities fraud class action against Biovail and certain of its officers.
The plan, with co-lead plaintiff Local 282 Welfare Trust Fund, led the prosecution of this litigation on behalf of a class of investors who purchased Biovail common stock between Feb. 7, 2003 and March 2, 2004.
The complaint alleges that defendants made a series of false and misleading statements regarding the 2003 launch of Cardizem LA.
The settlement was reached after nearly four years of intensive litigation, and is the second largest settlement of a securities case involving a Canadian issuer, behind only Nortel, another class action in which Teachers’ served as co-lead plaintiff.
“This is an excellent recovery and reflects the impact that institutional investors like OTPP can have in securities class actions,” says Teachers’ president and CEO Jim Leech. “We are pleased to obtain this recovery on behalf of the class and our more than 271,000 active and retired teachers, for whom we invest.”
The settlement is subject to approval by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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