Shareholders Foundation, Inc.

Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) Investor Alert: Deadline, May 7, 2012 in Class Certification

The class was certified in the lawsuit by filed investors in Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) over the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in 2009 and investors with a large investment in NYSE:BAC should contact the Shareholders Foundation.

 

San Diego, CA -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/24/2012 -- The court certified the class in the lawsuit filed by investors in NYSE:BAC shares connection with the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. in 2009. That means the court identified the investors who are included and who are affected by the lawsuit that was filed in connection with the Merrill Lynch acquisition.

Affected investors in NYSE:BAC should have received via mail over the past few weeks a notice from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. In this notice four investor groups were defined that are affected by the lawsuit.

Investors who purchased or otherwise acquired a substantial amount of common stock of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) during the period from September 18, 2008 through January 21, 2009, or held a substantial amount of NYSE:BAC shares on October 10, 2008 and were entitled to vote on the merger on January 1, 2009, have certain options and there are strict deadlines running. Deadline: May 7, 2012. Those NYSE:BAC stockholders should contact the Shareholders Foundation at mail(at)shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1(858) 779 - 1554.

The court said that, among two other groups, all investors are affected who held Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) common stock as of October 10, 2008, and were entitled to vote on the merger between Bank of America Corporation and Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. that was consummated on January 1, 2009, and all investors who purchased or otherwise acquired the common stock of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) during the period from September 18, 2008 through January 21, 2009, inclusive, excluding shares of Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) common stock acquired by exchanging Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc. common stock for Bank of America Corporation common stock through the merger between the two companies. According to the notice affected investors have until May 7, 2012 to take actions.

The lawsuit was originally filed in 2009 over the acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc by Bank of America. The plaintiff claimed that in Bank of America's January 1, 2009 announcement that the merger had closed, Kenneth Lewis, the former chief executive of Bank of America, made no mention of the losses. However, so the plaintiff, then on January 16, 2009, Bank of America disclosed Merrill Lynch's preliminary 2008 fourth quarter loss of $15.3 billion. Merrill Lynch's fourth quarter 2008 "principal transactions" revenue was negative $13.1 billion, reflecting a net loss owing to write-downs, mark-to-market valuation declines and other losses on assets held in its trading portfolio.

It is alleged that as a result of this massive loss Bank of America was compelled to seek additional funding and asset guarantees from the United States Treasury Department. Following these disclosures, Bank of America shares declined by 31% between January 14, 2009 and January 16, 2009.

Those who purchased or otherwise acquired a substantial amount of common stock of Bank of America Corporation during the period from September 18, 2008 through January 21, 2009, or held a substantial amount of NYSE:BAC shares on October 10, 2008 and were entitled to vote on the merger on January 1, 2009, have certain options and there are strict deadlines running. Deadline: May 7, 2012. Those NYSE:BAC stockholders should contact the Shareholders Foundation.

Contact:
Shareholders Foundation, Inc.
Trevor Allen
3111 Camino Del Rio North - Suite 423
92108 San Diego
Phone: +1-(858)-779-1554
Fax: +1-(858)-605-5739
mail@shareholdersfoundation.com