Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (“Coughlin Stoia”) (http://www.csgrr.com/cases/the9/) today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) (as evidenced by American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”)) of The9, Ltd. (“The9” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq:NCTY) between November 15, 2006 and July 15, 2009, inclusive (the “Class Period”), against The9 and certain of the officers and/or directors of The9 for violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Coughlin Stoia at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@csgrr.com. If you are a member of this Class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.csgrr.com/cases/the9/. 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.
The complaint charges The9 and certain directors and officers of The9 with violations of the Exchange Act. The9 is an online game operator and developer in China. According to the complaint, during the Class Period, the Company, directly and through its affiliates and/or subsidiaries, operated licensed massively multiplayer online role-playing games (“MMORPGs”) and advanced casual games in China, including World of Warcraft (“WoW”), Soul of The Ultimate Nation, Granado Espada, EA SPORTS FIFA Online 2, and Atlantica. It also operated other licensed games in mainland China, including Audition 2 and Field of Honor.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made numerous positive statements regarding the Company’s financial condition, business and prospects. The complaint further alleges that these statements were inaccurate statements of material fact when made because defendants failed to disclose that: (i) it was becoming increasingly less likely that the Company would be renewing the WoW contract with Blizzard; (ii) The9 had not even begun formal negotiations with Blizzard regarding the contract renewal; (iii) The9 and Blizzard had been at odds regarding The9’s operation of WoW in China; and (iv) the equity investment by EA in The9 had made it less likely that Blizzard would renew the WoW contract because Blizzard would essentially be doing business with one of its greatest competitors.
On July 15, 2009, The9 reported a $36.9 million - or 72% - reduction in net income for 2008 from $51.1 million in net income that it had reported for that period on February 23, 2009. Moreover, The9 admitted that it had not even begun negotiations with Blizzard concerning the renewal of the WoW contract as of the date that it had previously represented to investors. In response to this news, shares of The9’s stock dropped 18% to $8.34.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of The9 ADSs during the Class Period (the “Class”). The plaintiff is represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
Coughlin Stoia, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. The Coughlin Stoia Web site (http://www.csgrr.com) has more information about the firm.
Contacts:
Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP
Samuel H. Rudman,
800-449-4900
or
David A. Rosenfeld
djr@csgrr.com
