Firms sue Twitter, claim 'egregious' share ruse

NY lawsuit: Twitter used international road show to boost IPO valuation, cheating investors

10/30/2013
ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK — Two financial firms have sued Twitter, saying it supported a tour through the U.S., Europe and Asia to sell shares last year, only to disallow the sales in a ruse aimed at boosting the company’s valuation for an initial public offering.

Precedo Capital Group Inc. and Continental Advisors filed the lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Manhattan. It seeks $124 million in damages for misrepresentations that were “wanton and egregious.”

The companies said Continental took the roadshow through eight countries and two continents, lining up institutional fund and asset managers to buy $278 million in Twitter shares. They say San Francisco-based Twitter sought an artificial market to ensure a $19 share price.

In a statement, Twitter Inc. calls the lawsuit “completely without merit.”