Superior Offshore International might have misrepresented to investors in its IPO the state of its business, allowing it to raise $152 million and insiders to sell $9 million in stock at artificially inflated prices.
Insider Selling/Undisclosed Related Party Transactions
Product or Service
Common Stock
Injury Type
Monetary Loss
Investigation Details
This is a securities class action lawsuit against Superior Offshore International, Inc. and certain officers and directors, and underwriters.
The class action lawsuit alleges that on April 20, 2007, Superior Offshore and Company insiders sold over 10 million shares of common stock to the public at an IPO. raising gross proceeds in excess of $152 million.
However, unbeknownst to investors at the time of the IPO, Superior Offshore's core business was not performing according to plan, its core market in the Gulf of Mexico was declining, and defendants would be forced to immediately transform and reorganize Superior Offshore, and enter into new, untested markets such as Deep Water and International Operations. Moreover, at the time of the IPO, Superior Offshore was not operating according to plan, such that Superior Offshore's sales already had been, and foreseeably would continue to be, adversely affected.
Beginning on August 14, 2007 -- after defendants and other Superior Offshore insiders liquidated over $49 million of their personally held shares -- Superior Offshore revealed the truth about Superior Offshore, including that the problems existing at the time of the IPO would result in extremely disappointing results for the foreseeable near-term, and would force defendants to reorganize and transform Superior Offshore.
Later, on November 14, 2007, shares again declined after defendants belatedly revealed that Superior Offshore was operating even below its recently revised forecasts, and that its core business was operating even worse than previously disclosed.
On January 9, 2008, the Company announced that it was suspending its prior substantially downward revised guidance. Following these belated disclosures, shares of Superior Offshore fell from their offering price of $15 per share to approximately $3.50 per share as a direct result of defendants' belated disclosures.
Defendant Details
Name (Stock Symbol)
Brief Description
Superior Offshore International, Inc. (DEEP)
Superior Offshore International, Inc. appears to be an oil exploration company. Its stock appears to have been delisted.