Just the Facts
On November 16, 2020, the Superior Court of Québec approved a $94 million (CAD) settlement agreement between a group of investors and Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. (N/K/A Bausch Health Companies Inc.) to resolve allegations that Valeant artificially inflated the price of its shares through a series of material misrepresentations and fraudulent business practices between February 27, 2012 and November 12, 2015. When news of these allegations broke, over $100 billion in shareholder equity was wiped out over the course of one year.
On August 29, 2017, Justice Chantal Chatelain of the Superior Court of Québec authorized two classes of investors of Valeant’s common shares and notes – together referred to as the “original class.” Later, on November 12, 2019, Justice Peter Kalichman authorized a supplementary class of investors as part of a settlement with Valeant’s auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the “original class” that comprises this settlement class includes:
- Primary Market Sub-Class: All persons and entities, wherever they may reside or may be domiciled, who, during the period February 28, 2013 to November 12, 2015, acquired Valeant’s Securities in an Offering, and held some or all of such Securities at any point in time between October 19, 2015 and November 12, 2015, excluding any claims in respect of Valeant’s Securities acquired in the United States (but not excluding any claims in respect of Valeant’s 4.5% Senior Notes due 2023 offered in March 2015); and,
- Secondary Market Sub-Class: All persons and entities, wherever they may reside or may be domiciled who, during the period February 27, 2012 to November 12, 2015, acquired Valeant’s Securities in the secondary market and held some or all such Securities at any point in time between October 19, 2015 and November 12, 2015, excluding any claims in respect of Valeant’s Securities acquired in the United States.
Class members must timely submit their claim forms by February 15, 2021.
As is often the case in securities class actions involving Canadian-domiciled companies (Valeant was headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario) there was a parallel, or sister class action filed in the United States based on similar allegations. That case, In re Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Securities Litigation, out of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, settled last December for $1.21 billion(USD).
