Dive Brief:
- After the recent decision to offer new shares of stock to help build revenue, J.C. Penney is being sued by at least one shareholder who claims that the company knowingly misled him, along with other investors.
- Since issuing an additional $800 million in shares, J.C. Penney share values have fallen significantly.
- Shareholder and plaintiff Alan Marcus is represented by law firm Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd. The firm commonly represents plaintiffs in class action suits.
Dive Insight:
Alan Marcus purchased 300 new shares in J.C. Penney on Sept. 26, prior to the additional public stock offering by the company, Reuters reported. Marcus is seeking class-action status for the lawsuit and plans to include any shareholders who purchased stock between Aug. 20 and Sept. 26 of this year. Marcus claims that J.C. Penney offered public assurances to shareholders over the last two months that it would not need to raise new capital. Ostensibly, someone changed their mind about that outlook before the new offering was announced,
Was Marcus intentionally misled, though? Proving so may take some doing.
