NEW YORK, June 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, is investigating potential claims against Global Cord Blood Corporation (“Global Cord” or the “Company”) (NYSE: CO, OTC: CORBF) and reminds investors of the June 24, 2024 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP Securities Litigation Partner James (Josh) Wilson Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses Exceeding $75,000 In Global Cord To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options

If you suffered losses exceeding $75,000 investing in Global Cord stock or options between June 4, 2019 and May 3, 2022 and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310). You may also click here for additional information: www.faruqilaw.com/CORBF.

Faruqi & Faruqi is a leading national securities law firm with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, California and Georgia. The firm has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors since its founding in 1995. See www.faruqilaw.com.

Throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and prospects. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) Global Cord employed a capital allocation strategy designed to reserve funds for Company insiders and related parties rather than for the benefit of Company shareholders; (ii) Global Cord's decisions to reject multiple going private offers and enter into the Transaction were nothing more than self-serving and conflicted attempts by Defendants to divert company funds to corporate insiders and related parties; (iii) Defendants had fundamentally misrepresented to investors Global Cord's approach to capital allocation, strategic investments, acquisitions, and related party transactions as a result of the misappropriation by Defendant Kam and his entities of hundreds of millions of dollars from the Company; and (iv) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

On April 29, 2022, after the market closed, in a Form 6-K filed with the SEC, Global Cord announced that it had entered into a Material Definitive Agreement to acquire Cellenkos for over $1 billion, including $664 million in cash and 114 million Global Cord shares-roughly the same number of the Company's shares that were already outstanding (the "Transaction"). The Transaction thus stood to dilute the Company's shareholders by half and deplete its sizable cash balance.

On this news, Global Cord's stock price fell $0.98 per share, or 28.57%, from $3.43 at the close of trading on April 29, 2022, to close at $2.45 per share on May 2, 2022.

The Transaction was rushed to completion in under three days from when Global Cord's Board was first notified of it, without the shareholder approval that would be expected-and was required-for such a momentous transaction. Further, it grossly overvalued Cellenkos, such as by assuming that all of its treatments would receive regulatory approval.

Global Cord's Directors approved the Transaction to benefit themselves and other Company insiders and related parties. The court in the Cayman Islands has criticized the role of Global Cord's Directors and management in the Transaction, stating (among other observations) that "it is impossible at this stage to discern any easily comprehensible commercial rationale for the Company, especially being a listed company, consummating and implementing an arrangement which was so financially and strategically significant with such a breath-taking combination of speed and stealth, particularly in circumstances where the Company was (as at April 29, 2022) under 'minority' rather than majority shareholder control."

On May 3, 2022, Blue Ocean Structure Investment Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nanjing Yingpeng, filed a Petition (the "Petition") in the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, Financial Services Division, opposing the Transaction. Specifically, the Petition asserted that Cellenkos had no discernible long-term value, that the Transaction purchase price was unjustifiable, that the Transaction would result in a massive dilution of Global Cord shareholders, that the close relationship between Global Cord and Cellenkos constituted a conflict of interest, and that the Transaction was approved without sufficient shareholder knowledge.

On this news, Global Cord's stock price fell $0.22 per share, or 9.09%, to close at $2.20 per share on May 5, 2022.

On September 22, 2022, as a result of the actions described above and other misconduct by the Individual Defendants related to the Transaction, the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands suspended the powers of Global Cord's Directors and appointed Joint Provisional Liquidators over the Company.

Following the appointment of the Joint Provisional Liquidators, the NYSE halted trading in Global Cord's ordinary shares, effective September 23, 2022.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not.  

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Global Cord’s conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

To learn more about the Global Cord Blood class action, go to www.faruqilaw.com/CORBF or call Faruqi & Faruqi partner Josh Wilson directly at 877-247-4292 or 212-983-9330 (Ext. 1310).

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