NEW YORK, Aug. 01, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP, a leading national securities law firm, reminds investors in Venator Materials PLC (“Venator” or the “Company”) (NYSE: VNTR) of the September 30, 2019 deadline to seek the role of lead plaintiff in a federal securities class action that has been filed against the Company.

If you invested in Venator stock or options between August 2, 2017 and October 29, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"), and/or pursuant to the Company's initial public offering conducted on or around August 3, 2017 (the "IPO"), and/or pursuant to the Company’s secondary public offering conducted on or around December 4, 2017 (the "SPO," and together with the IPO, the "Offerings") and would like to discuss your legal rights, click here: www.faruqilaw.com/VNTR.  There is no cost or obligation to you.

You can also contact us by calling Richard Gonnello toll free at 877-247-4292 or at 212-983-9330 or by sending an e-mail to rgonnello@faruqilaw.com. 

CONTACT:
FARUQI & FARUQI, LLP
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Telephone: (877) 247-4292 or (212) 983-9330

The lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of all those who purchased Venator securities between August 2, 2017 and October 29, 2018, and/or pursuant to the Company's initial public offering conducted on or around August 3, 2017, and/or pursuant to the Company’s secondary public offering conducted on or around December 4, 2017.  The case, City Of Miami General Employees' & Sanitation Employees' Retirement Trust v. Venator Materials PLC et al., Docket No. 1:19-cv-07182 was filed on July 31, 2019 and has been assigned to District Judge Edgardo Ramos.

The lawsuit focuses on whether the Company and its executives violated federal securities laws by misrepresenting the true extent of the fire damage to Venator's Pori facility, the cost to rehabilitate the facility, and the impact on Venator's business and operations.

Specifically, the Company assured investors that the Pori facility would be rebuilt with insurance proceeds within its policy limits. Throughout the Class Period, Venator and its executives continued to assure investors that the rebuild of the Pori facility was on track and that the Company would be able to fully recoup the production capacity lost in the fire. As a result of these misrepresentations, Venator shares traded at artificially inflated prices throughout the Class Period.

On July 31, 2018, Venator revealed that the fire damage at the Pori facility was far more extensive than Defendants had previously represented to investors.  Venator announced that the cost to repair the facility had climbed to more than $375 million above the insurance policy limits, more than double the amount disclosed to investors just two months after the IPO. 

On this news, Venator’s stock price fell from $15.35 on July 30, 2019 to $14.62 on July 31, 2019—a $0.73 or a 4.80% drop.

Then, on September 12, 2018, Venator announced that it was abandoning the Pori facility altogether, despite the Company's previous assurances that the site would be repaired and restored back to its full operating capacity.  The Company also revealed that the facility was still only operating at 20% capacity and thus had not increased production by any meaningful amount during the thirteen months since the IPO.  During an investor conference call held later that same day, Venator's Chief Executive Officer ("CEO"), Defendant Simon Turner, admitted that the Company had misrepresented the true extent of the fire damage.  When asked by an analyst whether Venator had provided a "misestimate of the initial amount of damage from the fire" and whether "the actual work that needed to be done was missed," CEO Turner agreed that "it was a combination of factors, both of which, you've mentioned already." 

On this news, Venator’s stock price fell from $11.35 on September 11, 2018 to $10.81 on September 12, 2018—a $0.54 or a 4.76% drop.

Finally, on October 30, 2018, Venator announced that, in addition to the over $500 million in costs and lost business associated with the Pori fire incurred to date, the Company incurred a restructuring expense of approximately $415 million and would incur additional "charges of $220 million through the end of 2024" related to the Pori site. 

As a result of these disclosures, the Company's stock price declined from $8.00 per share to $6.47 per share, or more than 19%.

On this news, Venator’s stock price fell from $8.00 on October 29. 2019 to $6.47 on October 30, 2019—a $1.53 or a 19.13% drop.

The court-appointed lead plaintiff is the investor with the largest financial interest in the relief sought by the class who is adequate and typical of class members who directs and oversees the litigation on behalf of the putative class. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member. Your ability to share in any recovery is not affected by the decision to serve as a lead plaintiff or not. 

Faruqi & Faruqi, LLP also encourages anyone with information regarding Venator’s conduct to contact the firm, including whistleblowers, former employees, shareholders and others.

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