People who purchased or acquired Baxter International securities between Jan. 25 and July 18, 2002, may join a class action suit against the company. The suit charges that Baxter, its CEO and Chairman, Harry Jansen Kraemer Jr., and Brian Anderson, CFO, violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) and Rule 10b-5 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by making materially false and misleading statements to the market between those dates.
According to the complaint, during that period, Baxter announced in press releases that its bioscience and renal divisions would grow their earnings significantly, without disclosing that those divisions were experiencing serious problems. It charges that the assurances of continued growth were lacking in any reasonable basis when made. During the class period, Baxter insiders sold 435,700 common shares for gross proceeds of more than $23.7 million. On July 18, Baxter announced disappointing sales growth for the bioscience division and a decline in sales for the renal division. It took a $51 million charge in connection with an acquisition and a $70 million impairment charge reflecting a decline in the value of some company investments. In response to the announcement, the price of Baxter common stock fell 36.5%.
Baxter International develops, manufactures, and distributes biopharmaceuticals, vaccines, biosurgery products, transfusion therapies, medication delivery systems, and renal therapy for markets in more than 100 countries.
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