NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Triangle Capital Corporation (“Triangle Capital” or the “Company”) (NYSE: TCAP ) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York, and docketed under 17-cv-09311, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired Triangle Capital’s securities between May 7, 2014 and November 1, 2017, both dates inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased Triangle Capital securities between May 7, 2014, and November 1, 2017, both dates inclusive, you have until January 22, 2018, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and quantity of shares purchased.
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Triangle Capital Corporation operates as a private equity firm. The Company invests in manufacturing, distribution, transportation, energy, communications, health services, restaurants, and other business sectors.
The Complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) as early as 2013, Triangle’s investment professionals had internally recommended moving away from mezzanine loan deals due to changes in the market that no longer made these investments attractive risk-reward opportunities; (ii) the Company’s former Chief Executive Officer, Garland S. Tucker, III, had ignored the advice of Triangle’s investment professionals to chase higher short-term yields by causing Triangle to invest in mezzanine debt despite the poor quality of the loans and their increased risk of defaults and nonaccruals; (iii) the Company’s entire vintage of 2014 and 2015 investments were at substantial risk of non-accrual as a result of the poor quality of the investments and deficient underwriting practices in place at the time of the investments; (iv) more than 13% of Triangle’s investment portfolio at cost was at risk of non-accrual and, thus, the fair value of the Company’s asset portfolio was artificially inflated; (v) Triangle had materially understated the number of loans performing below expectations and/or in non-accrual and had delayed writing down impaired investments; (vi) Triangle failed to implement effective underwriting policies and practices to ensure it received appropriate risk-adjusted returns on its investments; and (vii) as a result of the foregoing, Triangle Capital’s shares traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period, and class members suffered significant losses and damages.
On November 1, 2017, Triangle issued a press release announcing its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2017. The release revealed that the fair value of the Company’s investment portfolio had declined to $1.09 billion, a decline of nearly 7% from the prior quarter. In addition, the Company revealed that it had suffered $8.9 million in net realized losses and $65.8 million in net unrealized depreciation to its portfolio during the quarter. The Company also disclosed that it had only earned $0.36 per share in net investment income and that it was slashing its quarterly dividend to $0.30 per share, a decline of 33% from the prior quarter. Most shocking, Triangle revealed that it had placed seven new investments on non-accrual status during the quarter, effectively acknowledging that those assets were unlikely to generate future returns, and that the amount of investments on non-accrual had ballooned to 13.4% and 4.7% of the Company’s total portfolio at cost and at fair value, respectively.
On these disclosures, Triangle Capital’s share price fell $2.57, or 20.98%, to close at $9.68 on November 2, 2017.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Los Angeles, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com
CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
