NEW YORK, Aug 18 (Reuters) - At 7:30 on Monday morning Motorola announced it was being acquired by Google. Less than four hours later, a pack of securities class-action law firms were ready to pounce on the company.
So far, at least eight firms have announced that they are investigating Motorola Mobility Holdings for an alleged breach of duty by its board members for failing to shop the sale of Motorola for the best price. The law firms issued their press releases on the heels of a joint announcement by Google and Motorola Aug. 15 about the $12.5 billion deal. The law firms also have asked shareholders to contact them. Potential plaintiffs are shareholders who believe the sale was underpriced.
Levi & Korsinsky, which posted its release by 11:17 Monday morning, said that at least one analyst has determined that the sale value should have been $42 per share instead of $40, the amount that Google paid. The other law firms made nearly identical statements in their announcements. They include Kendall Law Group; Briscoe Law Firm; Power Taylor; Bronstein, Gewirtz & Grossman; Robbins Umeda; Law Offices of Howard G. Smith; and Glancy Binkow & Goldberg.
In addition, a shareholder filed a class-action on Tuesday in Illinois state court alleging that the Motorola failed to get the best price in the deal. Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd is representing the plaintiff.
On Thursday, law firm Brower Piven issued a press release stating that it also was filing a shareholder class action in Illinois against the company.
Motorola and Google declined to comment for this story. "We are investigating the fairness of the proposed transaction to Motorola shareholders," said Willie Briscoe, one of the class-action lawyers, in a press release.
None of the plaintiffs firms returned calls seeking comment except for Robbins Umeda. A spokeswoman for that firm was not immediately able to answer reporter questions.
Investigations and lawsuits after proposed sales of public companies or some of their assets are fairly common. In June, shareholders filed a class action against Lawson Software for its $11.25 per share sale of software technology to Golden Gate Capital, claiming that the sale price was too low. Last year, shareholders sued American Italian Pasta Co.'s after it announced its $1.2 billion sale to Ralcorp. Holdings.
The sale of Motorola to Google is expected to be completed early next year, the companies have said.
(Reporting by Leigh Jones)
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