BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. (BTAI)
Confidential investigation: officers & directors’ potential breach of fiduciary duties to investors.
Investigation
07/19/2021
Initial Lawsuit
06/15/2022
Lawsuit Progression
08/15/2022
Did Unilever, owner of Ben & Jerry’s for more than 20 years, and the board of Ben & Jerry’s mislead investors regarding its resolution to end sales of its ice cream in “Occupied Palestinian Territory”?
Did the decision ultimately reduce sales and risk a customer backlash?
While the company acknowledged in SEC filings that its “brands and reputation” were “valuable assets that could be impacted by unethical conduct”, did it omit to discuss Ben & Jerry’s alleged boycott decision, ultimately risking damage to Unilever’s brands, reputation, and business results?
This post is open for investors to gather facts, and findings and track their exposure to related lawsuits. We invite investors and shareholders to contribute to this investigation for their own benefit, add events to the factual timeline below and vote on events’ pertinence.
A lawsuit was subsequently filed. We will update this post as it unfolds.
07/21/2021
Ben & Jerry’s announces that it will “End Sales of [their] Ice Cream in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
“We believe it is inconsistent with our values for Ben & Jerry’s ice cream to be sold in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT). We also hear and recognize the concerns shared with us by our fans and trusted partners. We have a longstanding partnership with our licensee, who manufactures Ben & Jerry’s ice cream in Israel and distributes it in the region. We have been working to change this, and so we have informed our licensee that we will not renew the license agreement when it expires at the end of next year.
Although Ben & Jerry’s will no longer be sold in the OPT, we will stay in Israel through a different arrangement. We will share an update on this as soon as we’re ready.”
Stock Impact
Close | Previous close | Price variation | Percentage variation |
---|---|---|---|
$58.71 | $58.82 | $-0.11 | -0.19% |
A shareholder brings this federal securities class action on behalf of all persons who purchased or otherwise acquired Unilever American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) between September 2, 2020, and July 21, 2021, inclusive.
According to the complaint, defendants made materially false and/or misleading statements, as well as failed to disclose material adverse facts about the company’s business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, defendants allegedly failed to disclose to investors that:
(a) Unilever acknowledged the importance of maintaining successful customer relationships with existing customers but omitted discussing that the Ben & Jerry’s Board had already decided to end sales to existing Israeli customers, which risked reduced sales and a customer backlash.
(b) The company’s description of its Ethical risks (¶39 of the complaint) was materially false and misleading because Unilever acknowledged that its brands and reputation are valuable assets that could be impacted by unethical conduct but omitted discussing Ben & Jerry’s boycott decision, which risked damage to Unilever’s brands, reputation, and business results.
(c) The company’s description of its Legal risks (¶40 of the complaint) was materially false and misleading because Unilever acknowledged that complying with all applicable laws and regulations was important but omitted discussing Ben & Jerry’s boycott decision, which risked adverse governmental actions for violations of Anti-BDS Legislation.
The lead plaintiff deadline has passed, we will update this page as the lawsuit progresses.
Last event retrieved on 09/24/2022.
Confidential investigation: officers & directors’ potential breach of fiduciary duties to investors.