010642 Tyson Hit With Lawsuit Over IBP DealJune 23, 2001Bala Cynwyd, PA - Poultry giant Tyson Foods Inc. was hit with shareholder lawsuits over its aborted attempt to call off a $3.2 billion acquisition of beef and pork processor IBP Inc. in March. The lawsuits, which seek class status, were filed in the U.S. District Court in Delaware and seek damages on behalf of the sellers of IBP stock from March 29 through June 15. The two companies are in talks to complete the deal, which would create the largest U.S. meat company by far, one week after a judge ruled that Tyson had to fulfill the agreement valued at $3.2 billion at its announcement on New Year's Day. Tyson backed out of the deal on March 29 alleging numerous breaches, including accounting irregularities at an IBP subsidiary. However, Delaware Chancery Judge Leo Strine ruled on June 15 that Tyson had the necessary information when it made the pact and tried to scuttle the deal over buyers remorse. Friday's shareholder lawsuits were filed by law firms Schiffrin & Barroway LLP on behalf of an institutional investor, and by Chimicles & Tikellis LLP. The Chimicles & Tikellis lawsuit alleged that Tyson made misrepresentations and omissions that caused the price of IBP stock to fall 35% immediately in March. Shares of IBP recovered during the course of the Delaware Chancery proceedings and jumped from $18.27 to $24.35 on June 18, the first day of trading after the ruling for IBP.
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