Zynga

As co-lead counsel, Berman Tabacco negotiated a $23 million settlement in this smaller securities fraud case. The case alleged that the high-tech company and its highest officers falsely touted accelerated bookings and aggressive growth through 2012, while concealing crucial information that Zynga was experiencing significant declines in bookings for its games and knew of upcoming Facebook platform changes that would negatively impact Zynga’s revenues. Then, while Zynga’s stock was trading at a near class-period high, defendants obtained an early release from the initial public offering lock-up on their shares to enable them and a few other insiders to reap over $593 million in proceeds in a secondary offering of personally-held shares. The secondary offering was timed just three months before Zynga announced its dismal Q2 2012 earnings at the end of the class period, which caused Zynga’s stock to plummet. In summer 2015, with the guidance of an experienced mediator, the firm was able to negotiate an early settlement to this case that provides a meaningful recovery for the class without waiting years for discovery to unfold. The settlement fund, net of fees and expenses, represented nearly 10% of the estimated damages compared to the reported average recovery of less than 2.5% of estimated damages in other PSLRA cases.