Summary Notice of Pendency and Settlement of Class Action Issued In re DaimlerChrysler AG Securities Litigation
WILMINGTON, Del., Oct. 17, 2003 -- The following statement is being issued by Entwistle & Cappucci LLP, Grant & Eisenhofer, P.A., Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Barrack Rodos & Bacine regarding DaimlerChrysler AG Securities Litigation.
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
In Re: DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG Master File No.
SECURITIES LITIGATION 00-993 (JJF)
SUMMARY NOTICE OF PENDENCY AND SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION
TO: ALL PERSONS OR ENTITIES, WHO ARE NOT FOREIGN INVESTORS (AS DEFINED
BELOW), AND WHO EXCHANGED SHARES OF CHRYSLER CORPORATION FOR SHARES
OF DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG IN CONNECTION WITH THE NOVEMBER 1998 BUSINESS
COMBINATION OF CHRYSLER CORPORATION AND DAIMLER-BENZ AG, OR WHO
PURCHASED OR ACQUIRED SHARES OF DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG IN THE OPEN MARKET
FROM NOVEMBER 13, 1998 THROUGH NOVEMBER 17, 2000.
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the Court, of the pendency of the above-captioned class action (the "Action") and that a settlement for USD $300,000,000 in cash (the "Settlement") has been proposed. If approved, the Settlement will resolve all claims of Class Members against the Defendants in this Action. Details of the Settlement and the allocation of Settlement proceeds to Class Members can be found in the Notice of Pendency and Settlement of Class Action.
A hearing will be held on December 5, 2003 at 1:00 p.m. before the Honorable Joseph J. Farnan, Jr. at the United States District Court for the District of Delaware, J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building, 844 N. King Street, Wilmington, DE 19801, for the purpose of: (i) determining whether the Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate to the Class Members, and whether the Final Judgment and Order of Dismissal (the "Judgment") should be entered; (ii) determining whether the proposed plan of allocation is fair and reasonable and should be approved; and (iii) considering Lead Counsel's application for an award of attorneys' fees and payment of costs and expenses.
YOU ARE ALSO HEREBY NOTIFIED that, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the Court, a class (the "Class") has been certified in the above-captioned action consisting of: (i) all Persons who exchanged shares of Chrysler Corporation ("Chrysler") for shares of DaimlerChrysler AG ("DaimlerChrysler") in connection with the November 1998 business combination of Chrysler and Daimler-Benz AG and (ii) all Persons who purchased or acquired shares of DaimlerChrysler in the open market from November 13, 1998 through November 17, 2000. Excluded from the Class are Foreign Investors (as defined below), the defendants, all of the officers and directors of DaimlerChrysler, members of their immediate families and their legal representatives, heirs, predecessors, successors and assigns, and any entity in which any of the foregoing has a controlling interest. "Foreign Investors" are defined as all Persons who purchased or acquired their shares of Chrysler and/or DaimlerChrysler on or through a securities exchange not based in the United States, unless such Person is a citizen or a resident of the United States. The exclusion of "officers and directors of DaimlerChrysler" from the Class means past and present members of DaimlerChrysler's Management Board, Supervisory Board and Shareholders Committee, also known as the Integration Committee.
IF YOU ARE A MEMBER OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED ABOVE, YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE SETTLEMENT FUND. If you have not already received the full printed Notice of Pendency and Settlement of Class Action (the "Notice") and the Proof of Claim and Release ("Proof of Claim"), you may obtain copies by identifying yourself as a member of the Class and writing to the Claims Administrator at:
In re DaimlerChrysler AG Securities Litigation
C/o The Garden City Group, Inc.
Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 9000 #6155
Merrick, NY 11566-9000
or by downloading a copy of the Notice and Proof of Claim from the following web site: www.daimlerchryslersecuritieslitigation.com. Inquiries, other than requests for the Notice and Proof of Claim, may be made to Lead Counsel for the Class:
Vincent R. Cappucci Jay W. Eisenhofer
Johnston de F. Whitman, Jr. Geoffrey C. Jarvis
ENTWISTLE & CAPPUCCI LLP GRANT & EISENHOFER, P.A.
299 Park Avenue, 14th Floor 1201 N. Market Street, Suite 2100
New York, NY 10171 Wilmington, DE 19801
(212) 894-7200 (302) 622-7000
Daniel L. Berger Jeffrey W. Golan
Darnley D. Stewart Jeffrey A. Barrack
Rochelle Feder Hansen David E. Robinson
BERNSTEIN LITOWITZ BERGER BARRACK RODOS & BACINE
& GROSSMANN LLP 3300 Two Commerce Square
1285 Avenue of the Americas 2001 Market Street
New York, NY 10019 Philadelphia, PA 19103
(212) 554-1400 (215) 963-0600
To participate in the Settlement, if you have not previously submitted an acceptable Proof of Claim form, you must submit a Proof of Claim postmarked no later than March 31, 2004 establishing that you are entitled to a recovery. If you are a member of the Class and do not (or did not) submit a proper Proof of Claim, you will not share in the Settlement but you nevertheless will be bound by the Judgment of the Court.
To exclude yourself from the Class, you must submit a Request for Exclusion postmarked no later than November 21, 2003 in accordance with instructions set forth in the Notice. If you are a member of the Class and do not exclude yourself from the Class, you will be bound by the Judgment of the Court whether or not you submit a Proof of Claim.
Any objections to the proposed Settlement, proposed plan of allocation, or the application by Lead Counsel for an award of attorneys' fees and reimbursement of expenses must be filed in accordance with instructions provided in the Notice.
PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE COURT OR THE CLERK'S OFFICE FOR INFORMATION OR ADVICE.
Dated: October 6, 2003
BY ORDER OF THE COURT
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
DISTRICT OF DELAWARE
Berger & Grossmann LLP; Barrack Rodos & Bacine