Pomerantz Law Firm Announces the Filing of a Class Action against Jumia Technologies AG and Certain Officers – JMIA

NEW YORK, May 28, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Jumia Technologies AG (“Jumia” or the “Company”) (NYSE:  JMIA) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United States District Court, for the Southern District of New York, and indexed under 19-cv-04952, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Jumia securities between April 12, 2019 and May 9, 2019, inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).

If you are a shareholder who purchased Jumia securities during the class period, you have until July 15, 2019, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. 

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

             
Jumia characterizes itself as the leading pan-African e-commerce platform, which, according to Jumia, consists of a marketplace that connects sellers with consumers, a package shipment and delivery service, and a payment service.
             
On March 12, 2019, Jumia filed a Form F-1 Registration Statement (the “Registration Statement”) with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for the Company’s initial public offering (“IPO”).  The Registration Statement, as amended, was signed by the Individual Defendants (defined below) and declared effective by the SEC on April 10, 2019.
             
On April 15, 2019, Jumia filed a prospectus with the SEC for the IPO (the “Prospectus”), which forms part of the Registration Statement, offering to sell to the public 15.525 million American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) (including the underwriters’ option to purchase an additional 2.025 million ADSs) at a price of $14.50 per ADS. Thereafter, Jumia sold 15.525 million ADSs in the IPO and raised approximately $280.2 million therefrom, net of underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses.

The complaint alleges that throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies.  Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose the Registration Statement issued in connection with the IPO was materially false and misleading and failed to disclose material facts necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. These materially false and misleading statements and omissions remained alive and uncorrected during the Class Period. Specifically, Defendants failed to disclose the following adverse facts, which were known to Defendants or recklessly disregarded by them as follows:  (i) that Jumia had materially overstated its active customers and active merchants; (ii) that Jumia’s representations about its orders, order cancellations, undelivered orders, and returned orders lacked a sufficient factual basis and materially overstated the Company’s sales; (iii) that Jumia failed to sufficiently disclose related party transactions; and (iv) that Jumia’s financial statements were presented in violation of applicable accounting standards.  

On May 9, 2019, the investment research firm Citron Research issued a report (the “Citron Report”) announcing “Jumia is a Fraud” that “deserves immediate SEC attention.”  According to the Citron Report, while media in the U.S. naively anointed Jumia the “Amazon of Africa,” numerous articles were issued in its home country of Nigeria claiming widespread fraud at the Company. 
             
The Citron Report further noted that, just prior to the IPO, Jumia issued a confidential investor presentation in October 2018 during a capital raising effort. According to the Citron Report, “many material discrepancies in reported key financial metrics” exist between the Registration Statement and the confidential investor presentation, including, its reported active consumers and active merchants.
             
In response to the issuance of the Citron Report, the price of Jumia ADSs declined over 26% on heavy trading volume over a two-day period, from $33.11 per ADS on May 8, 2019 to $24.50 per ADS on May 10, 2019.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
rswilloughby@pomlaw.com