NEW YORK, July 21, 2008 (LAWSUIT) — Roy Jacobs & Associates
announces it has filed an action in the United States District Court
for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of the
common units of SemGroup Energy Partners, L.P. (“SGLP” or the
“Company”) (Nasdaq:SGLP) during the period from February 20, 2008
through July 17, 2008 (the “Class Period”) for violation of the federal
securities laws. The defendants include SGLP and certain officers and
directors.
For further information, please contact Roy L. Jacobs, Esq. toll-free
at 1-888-884-4490 or by e-mail to rjacobs@jacobsclasslaw.com. You may
also visit the firm’s website at www.jacobsclasslaw.com.
The Complaint alleges that SGLP’s parent SemGroup, L.P. (the “Parent”)
was in financial difficulty or at high risk for such financial
difficulty as a result of its investment in risky crude oil hedge
transactions by the start of the class period, but hid this from
investors in SGLP. Rather, on or about February 20, 2008, SGLP effected
a secondary offering, (the “Offering”) where it sold 6 million units at
$23.90 for proceeds of $137 million. It also borrowed substantial funds
and purchased the Parent’s asphalt business for $387 million. It is
alleged that this transaction was designed to financially prop up the
Parent. While the Prospectus for the Offering described the positive
relationship between SGLP and the Parent, and further described how
important the Parent was to SGLP since it was SGLP’s primary customer
and provided almost all of the Company’s revenue, there was no
discussion of the Parent’s financial difficulties or risk factors.
In the period following the Offering, SGLP units traded in the $24-27
range reflecting that, as far as the investing public was aware, the
Company was operating according to its business plan. However, by July
11, 2008, SGLP unit values began to decline on increased trading
volume, despite the release of no adverse news. Then on July 17, 2007
SGLP unit prices declined 50% to $11.00 on greatly increased volume of
5.7 million units, as a result of leakage of material adverse news
which had been withheld by defendants. As a result of the widespread
leakage, the defendants were finally forced to issue a statement after
the market closed on July 17, 2008 revealing that the Parent was
experiencing liquidity issues and was exploring various alternatives,
including raising additional equity, debt capital or the filing of a
voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the
Bankruptcy Code.
This news, which was completely unexpected, shocked the market. As a
result the price of the Company’s units have continued to decline,
wiping out almost $300 million in unitholder value.
If you purchased SGLP units during the period from February 20, 2008
through July 17, 2008 in the Offering or in the open market and are
interested in discussing your rights free of charge, please contact Roy
L. Jacobs. Mr. Jacobs will be glad to personally speak with you. You
may also signup at the Firm’s Website. You may qualify to serve as Lead
Plaintiff on behalf of the Class. You do not have to have sold your
units to serve in this capacity.
All motions for appointment as Lead Plaintiff must be filed in the by
September 19, 2008.
