National law firm investigates collapse.
An investigation is underway by law firm, Bannister Law, into a possible consumer and shareholder class action against private equity firm, Anchorage Capital Holdings, and the directors, officers and auditors of Dick Smith.
Bannister Law is scrutinising the disclosure and financial information that was provided to investors
of the DSH prospectus dated November 2013. The firm is also assessing whether sufficient and reliable
information was provided to potential stakeholders to allow them to make an informed investment
decision and whether there were any breaches of the Corporations Law and ASX Listing Rules.
The firm are also investigating the financial statements and disclosure in the 2014 and 2015 Annual Reports which may also have affected shareholders’ ability to make informed investment decisions.
Charles Bannister, founder and principal of Bannister Law, said that hundreds of very upset shareholders have already registered to be part of the proposed action.
In a statement provided to Appliance Retailer, Bannister said many of these aggrieved shareholders are mum and dad investors and those with self-managed super funds.
“Not only has this collapse taken $500 million out of the economy, our concern is that it seems that mum and dad investors are among the hardest hit,” he commented.
“We are encouraging aggrieved shareholders to register – so we know who they are, what their losses
are and so we have a better picture of affected investors across the country. We can then assess their loss and, if the class action is run, we know how much to claim.”
Registrants are also helping Bannister Law collect a body of evidence that will support the claims should the matter progress to court. “We are yet to establish what the total quantum of compensation is likely to be,” Bannister said.