back to article Facebook must face furious shareholders in class action over IPO

A judge has certified two class actions against Facebook in relation to growth forecasts given by the ad flinger before it floated on the stock market back in 2012. US District Judge Robert Sweet in Manhattan gave the go-ahead for retail and institutional investors to pursue their claims as groups in a 55-page decision which …

  1. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Graham Marsden

      Re: Suing because they "lost out"?

      If it was just because they'd "lost out", then there wouldn't be a case.

      If, however, FB deliberately witheld relevant information from potential purchasers in order to encourage people to buy over-valued shares, that's another matter entirely...

      1. Mark 85

        Re: Suing because they "lost out"?

        I withdrew my post. Seems the article has been edited and the statement about them suing because they "lost out" was changed. Given the legal system and the nature of lawyers here in the States I thought it was legitimate.

  2. Grikath

    Is this the new trend?

    You gamble on an IPO on stock that has a high likelyhood of being massively overvalued, get burned, then proceed to sue...

    Anyone with half a brain could see that the IPO price on FB was... shall we say "highly ambitious"... and that there was precious little chance to actually make money on them in the short run, except by selling short, if you could get in fast enough, and unload fast enough.

    My bet is that at least half the complainants tried that trick, and failed to find a different sucker fast enough. Bunch of whiners.

    1. ratfox
      Devil

      Re: Is this the new trend?

      Considering they could have doubled their money if they had only waited for a few years, I'd say the "overvalued" part is not going to hold…

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I assume the deleted first post covers what I'm going to say, but as it's deleted I'm going to say it.

    This just feels like a free gift for the legal industry. Even if Facebook are found to have bent the truth shareholders are going to have a hard time proving that they lost out given that the share price is now 3 times its float price.

    If there were irregularities in the IPO then by all means the relevant authority should punish Facebook, but letting a case drag on for 3 years while the entire basis of the suit disintegrates just makes the legal system look stupid (for about the millionth time).

    Obviously a few people will have sold at the bottom and will feel aggrieved, but I'm sure they're a small minority of claimants here and frankly they shouldn't be allowed to use the legal system to hedge the risks they accepted in buying into an IPO. Anyone who stayed in, has tripled their money and still wants a settlement is frankly insane.

    1. YetAnotherLocksmith Silver badge

      Indeed not. Anyone unhappy can give their Facebook shares to me, right now, for a full refund of the initial IPO price, + 10% as a goodwill gesture.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Eh? Didn't the share price eventually end up well north of the IPO?

    The entitled generation thinking they were entitled to a quick buck? No wonder much of corporate America is fucked. Businesses don't have proper investors anymore. They have leeches instead.

    1. Fatman
      Joke

      Re: Eh? Didn't the share price eventually end up well north of the IPO?

      <quote>No wonder much of corporate America is fucked.

      Businesses don't have proper investors anymore.

      They have leeches speculators looking for increased shareholder value instead.</quote>

      FTFY!!!!

  5. Hubert Thrunge Jr.

    Sorry you weren't able to make a fast buck...

    If I were the Judge, I'd throw it out.

    They bought at $38, expecting to make a fast pile of bucks and sell in a few days. Sadly it took 15 months or thereabouts to get back to the IPO level, then kept on climbing.

    It's now at $105.

    Greedy bastards. They deserve to lose.

    Is that c**t Icann one of them?

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