At the end of November, law firm Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP announced the launch of lawsuit against Taleo, claiming that executives of the online talent management solutions provider had improperly recognized revenues since October 2005, when the company went public. This would have led investors to purchase Taleo shares based on a misrepresentation of the company's financial health.
In addition, company executives are accused of having engaged in extensive insider trading, and unloading more than $120 million in stock sales. The sell-off apparently accelerated over the past few months, as the company's share price plunged. During this time, CEO Michael Grégoire is alleged to have sold $2.5 million worth of shares. Director Jeffrey Schwartz is said to have unloaded all of his shares for $7,829,280 in May 2008.
On November 17, Hagens Berman therefore filed a class action lawsuit with the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs have until January 16, 2009, to join the class action lawsuit and file for damages.
By Mehdi Oucherfi