SAN FRANCISCO, Apr. 16, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, a national investor-rights law firm, reminds investors with losses exceeding $100,000 of the extended class period in the class action lawsuit filed against Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (NYSE: SQM ) (“SQM” or “the Company”). The suit is pending in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, and investors who purchased SQM securities between June 30, 2010 and March 17, 2015, (the “Class Period”) have until May 18, 2015 to move for lead plaintiff . The previous Class Period only included purchases made between March 4, 2014 and March 17, 2015.
If you purchased SQM securities during the Class Period, and have losses over $100,000, you may contact Hagens Berman Partner Reed Kathrein, who is leading the firm’s investigation, by calling (510) 725-3000, emailing SQM@hbsslaw.com or visiting http://hb-securities.com/investigations/SQM . No class has been certified in this case and if your losses are less than $100,000 you are still a member of the class.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) money from SQM was channeled illicitly to the Independent Democratic Union ("UDI"), Chile's largest conservative party; (2) the Company lacked adequate internal controls over financial reporting; and (3) as a result of the foregoing, the Company's financial statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On February 26, 2015, SQM issued the first of a series of disclosures that directly linked the Company to an ongoing UDI contribution scandal. On March 11, 2015, SQM disclosed that its Board of Directors would meet the next day to evaluate the request by the Public Prosecutor for delivery of information related to the alleged bribery scandal. On March 16, 2015, the Company announced that it had turned over all of the information requested by the Public Prosecutor. Additionally, the SQM announced that the Board had agreed to terminate CEO Patricio Contesse effectively immediately. As a result of this series of disclosures, SQM stock dropped over the course of several weeks to close at $22.10 per share on March 17, 2015, a decline of 15.55% from February 25, 2015.
The fall was not over, however, because on March 18, 2015, SQM issued a press release indicating that three board members had resigned on March 17, 2015. On this news, shares of SQM fell an additional $3.45 per share, or more than 15.6%, to close at $18.65 per share on March 18, 2015.
If you were negatively impacted by your investment in SQM securities between June 30, 2010 and March 17, 2015 , and would like to learn more about this lawsuit and your ability to participate as a lead plaintiff, please contact us for your no-cost evaluation.
Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding SQM should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at (510) 725-3000 or email SQM@hbsslaw.com .
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP is an investor-rights class-action law firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington with offices in nine cities. The firm represents investors, whistleblowers, workers and consumers in complex litigation. More about the firm and its successes can be found at www.hbsslaw.com . Read the firm’s Securities Newsletter at http://www.hb-securities.com/newsletter . The firm’s blog is located at www.meaningfuldisclosure.com .
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Contact: Reed Kathrein, (510) 725-3000
