Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized stockholder rights law firm, announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against MINISO Group Holding Limited (“MINISO” or the “Company”) (NYSE: MNSO) in the United States District Court for the Central District of California on behalf of all persons and entities who purchased or otherwise acquired MINISO securities pursuant to the Company’s October 15, 2020 IPO (the “Class Period”). Investors have until October 17, 2022 to apply to the Court to be appointed as lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Click here to participate in the action.
MINISO purports to be a fast-growing global value retailer which serves consumers primarily through its large network of MINISO stores. On October 15, 2020, defendants held the IPO, issuing approximately 30.4 million American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) to the investing public at $20.00 per ADS, pursuant to the Registration Statement.
On July 26, 2022, market researcher Blue Orca Capital published a report on MINISO which alleged several issues with MINISO, including that “contrary to [MINISO]’s claims, many MINISO stores are secretly owned by [MINISO] executives or insiders closely connected to the chairman” and “[u]ltimately, we believe that there is overwhelming evidence that MINISO misleads the market about its core business.” As Blue Orca explained, “[o]ur suspicion is that MINISO realized early in the pre-IPO process that a brick-and-mortar retailer would be far less attractive to investors than an asset-light franchise business, so we think that [MINISO] simply lied about these stores.” Blue Orca added that “Chinese corporate filings also indicate, in our view, that the chairman siphoned hundreds of millions from the public company through opaque Caribbean jurisdictions as the middleman in a crooked headquarters deal.” Blue Orca further concluded that “[i]ndependent evidence, including archived disclosures on MINISO’s Chinese website, reports in Chinese media and interviews with former employees, indicate that MINISO is a brand in serious peril,” noting that “MINISO lowered its franchising fee by 63% over the past two years in a desperate effort to attract franchisees.” On this news, MINISO’s ADS price fell nearly 15%.
As of July 27, 2022, MINISO ADSs closed at $5.66 per ADS, representing more than a 70% decline from the $20.00 IPO price.
The MINISO class action lawsuit alleges that the IPO’s Registration Statement was false and/or misleading and/or failed to disclose that: (i) defendants and other undisclosed related parties owned and controlled a much larger amount of MINISO stores than previously stated; (ii) as a result, MINISO concealed its true costs; (iii) MINISO did not represent its true business model; (iv) defendants, including MINISO and its Chairman, engaged in planned unusual and unclear transactions; (v) as a result of at least one of these transactions, MINISO is at risk of breaching contracts with PRC authorities; and (vi) MINISO would imminently and drastically drop its franchise fees.
If you purchased or otherwise acquired MINISO shares and suffered a loss, are a long-term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Melissa Fortunato by email at investigations@bespc.com, telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you.
About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.:
Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York, California, and South Carolina. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220818005800/en/