In re Livent Corporation Securities Litigation

On July 26, 2019, Labaton Sucharow LLP filed in Pennsylvania state court an Amended Class Action Complaint (the “Complaint”), asserting claims under Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act against Livent Corporation (“Livent”). On September 20, 2019, that case was consolidated with a similar case against Livent, Labaton Sucharow was appointed lead counsel in the consolidated action, and Plymouth County Retirement Association and an individual retail investor were appointed as co-lead plaintiffs.

The Complaint alleges that the registration statement and prospectus used to conduct Livent’s IPO were false and misleading in touting Livent’s purported strategy of focusing on and supplying high performance lithium compounds to the fast-growing EV battering market. What was not known to investors, however, that Livent had been forced to satisfy customer contracts with third-party sources, which reduced revenues and squeezed its margins, that one of its largest contracts provided for lower pricing than any other contract and that other long-term contracts were not actually beneficial to the Livent’s revenues, and that electric vehicle manufacturers were not purchasing the forecasted quantity of lithium, which forced Livent to sell excess product at a discount. As a result of the false and misleading statements and omissions made in connection with the IPO, as of the filing of this action, Livent’s common stock traded at $7.61 per share—55.24% less than the $17 per share IPO price.

The case is In re Livent Corporation Securities Litigation, No. 19-0501229, in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania. Labaton Sucharow represents co-lead plaintiff Plymouth County Retirement Association. The defendants are Livent, certain of its officers and directors, its controlling shareholders, and its IPO underwriters.