September 28, 2011
Bernstein Liebhard LLP today announced an investigation into Imperial Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: IFT), following the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (“FBI”) raid of the Florida offices of the company. Imperial Holdings provides loans and cash payments based on life insurance policies and structured settlements.
On Tuesday, September 27, 2011, Imperial Holdings confirmed local media reports of the FBI raid, and said that it, along with several employees, as well as its chairman and chief executive and its president and chief operating officer, were also under investigation in the District of New Hampshire for matters related to the company’s life-insurance business. On this news, the company lost more than half its market capitalization, with its stock price plummeting nearly 60%.
Imperial Holdings became a publicly traded company in February 2011 when it raised $179.2 million in an initial public offering, selling over 16.66 million shares to the public at $10.75 per share. Prior to the company’s IPO, Imperial Holdings lost money every year from 2008 through 2010, but reported that it had suddenly become profitable in the first six months of this year, according to its posted financial statements.
Tellingly, two of the firms that underwrote the company’s IPO backed away from the company in the wake of the raid. JMP Securities suspended its rating and coverage of Imperial Holdings’ stock, stating that “a lack of information surrounding [the] FBI investigation inhibits our ability to adequately analyze the stock.” Likewise, Wunderlich Securities downgraded the shares to hold and suspended its $16 price target, also pointing to the uncertainty suddenly engulfing the company.
If you are interested in discussing your rights as an Imperial Holdings shareholder and/or have information relating to the matter, please contact Joseph R. Seidman, Jr. at (877) 779-1414 or seidman@bernlieb.com.
Bernstein Liebhard has pursued hundreds of securities, consumer, and antitrust cases and recovered almost $3 billion for its
clients. It has been named to The National Law Journal’s “Plaintiffs’ Hot List” in each of the last eight years.
