BOSTON, May 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Block & Leviton LLP, counsel to the proposed class representatives ("Plaintiffs") and lead counsel for the putative class in two related actions pending in Multnomah County, Oregon, In re Rentrak Corporation Shareholders Litigation, No. 15CV27429, and Hulme v. Livek, et al., No. 17CV04984, announced today that Plaintiffs filed a motion last week seeking preliminary approval of a $19 million settlement.
Block & Leviton believes this to be one of (and perhaps the) largest cash settlement(s) in the history of merger-and-acquisition litigation in Oregon. This is also one of the most significant merger litigation settlements in any jurisdiction in recent years. The well-respected economics firm, Cornerstone Research, has published data for all settlements of merger litigation, throughout the country, since 2010. Of the settlements identified by Cornerstone, this is the fourth-largest settlement of any merger litigation arising from a transaction valued at less than $1 billion. And it is the largest settlement of merger litigation arising from a transaction valued at less than $1 billion that did not involve a sale to a controlling stockholder or disproportionate consideration paid to a controlling stockholder.
The litigation arose from the all-stock acquisition of Rentrak Corporation ("Rentrak") by comScore, Inc. ("comScore," OTC: SCOR) (the "Transaction") that closed on January 2016. Several weeks after the Transaction closed, comScore announced an investigation into accounting issues that caused its stock price to drop significantly.
If the proposed settlement is approved and becomes effective, members of the putative class—former Rentrak shareholders who received common stock of comScore in exchange for their Rentrak stock in the Transaction—will be able to seek partial compensation for their losses from the settlement fund.
The proposed settlement will not release Rentrak shareholders' claims under the federal securities laws against comScore, its officers or directors, or its auditor, Ernst & Young. Plaintiffs are continuing to pursue federal securities claims against comScore's officers and directors and Ernst & Young in a related action pending in Multnomah County, Oregon.
If the Court grants preliminary approval of the settlement, members of the Class will receive a court-approved notice providing additional information about the settlement, including the date for a hearing to determine whether to grant final approval of the settlement. In the interim, if have questions about your legal rights, or if you have information relevant to this matter, please contact attorney Joel Fleming or Jason Leviton of Block & Leviton LLP at (617) 398-5600 or at Joel@blockesq.com or Jason@blockesq.com. A copy of the Stipulation of Settlement, the Motion for Preliminary Approval, and the operative complaints is available online at http://www.blockesq.com/rentrak
Block & Leviton represents investors for violations of securities laws throughout the country. The firm's lawyers have collectively been prosecuting securities cases for over 70 years, have recovered billions of dollars for investors and represent some of the nation's largest institutional investors.
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Contact:
BLOCK & LEVITON LLP
Jason Leviton, Jason@blockesq.com
Joel Fleming, Joel@blockesq.com
(617) 398-5600
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SOURCE Block & Leviton LLP
