Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Labaton Sucharow LLP Announce a Proposed Settlement in the Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. Class Action

NEW YORK, Aug. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Labaton Sucharow LLP regarding the In re Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. Securities Litigation, Case No. 15-cv-1249 (S.D.N.Y.)

SUMMARY NOTICE OF (I) PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND PLAN OF ALLOCATION; (II) SETTLEMENT HEARING; AND (III) MOTION FOR AN AWARD OF ATTORNEYS' FEES AND PAYMENT OF LITIGATION EXPENSES

To: All persons and entities that, during the period between January 25, 2013 and May 11, 2015, inclusive (the "Class Period"), purchased or otherwise acquired shares of the publicly traded common stock of Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. ("Virtus") and were damaged thereby (the "Class").¹

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY; YOUR RIGHTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE SETTLEMENT OF A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT PENDING IN THIS COURT.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED, pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and an Order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, that Court-appointed Class Representative, Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, on behalf of itself and the Court-certified Class, in the above-captioned securities class action (the "Action") has reached a proposed settlement of the Action with defendants Virtus, Virtus Opportunities Trust, George R. Aylward, Jeffrey T. Cerutti, and Francis G. Waltman (collectively, the "Defendants") for $22,000,000 in cash that, if approved, will resolve all claims in the Action.

A hearing will be held on October 24, 2018 at 10:00 a.m., before the Honorable William H. Pauley III, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007-1312, Courtroom 20B, to determine whether:  (i) the proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable, and adequate; (ii) the Action should be dismissed with prejudice against Defendants, and the releases specified and described in the Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, dated May 18, 2018 should be granted; (iii) the proposed Plan of Allocation should be approved as fair and reasonable; and (iv) Class Counsel's application for an award of attorneys' fees and payment of expenses should be approved.

If you are a member of the Class, your rights will be affected by the pending Action and the Settlement, and you may be entitled to share in the Net Settlement Fund. If you have not yet received the full printed Notice of (I) Proposed Settlement and Plan of Allocation; (II) Settlement Hearing; and (III) Motion for an Award of Attorneys' Fees and Payment of Litigation Expenses (the "Settlement Notice") and the Claim Form, you may obtain copies of these documents by contacting the Claims Administrator at In re Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. Securities Litigation, c/o GCG, P.O. Box 10489, Dublin, OH 43017-4089, 1-866-680-8403, [email protected]. Copies of the Settlement Notice and Claim Form can also be downloaded from the website for the Action, www.VirtusSecuritiesLitigation.com.

If you are a Class Member, in order to be eligible to receive a payment under the proposed Settlement, you must submit a Claim Form online or postmarked no later than October 10, 2018. If you are a Class Member and do not submit a proper Claim Form, you will not be eligible to share in the distribution of the net proceeds of the Settlement but you will nevertheless be bound by any judgments or orders entered by the Court in the Action. 

Any objections to the proposed Settlement, the proposed Plan of Allocation, and/or Class Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and payment of expenses, must be filed with the Court and delivered to Class Counsel and counsel for Defendants such that they are received on or before October 3, 2018, in accordance with the instructions set forth in the Settlement Notice.

Please do not contact the Court, the Clerk's office, Virtus, any other Defendants in the Action, or their counsel regarding this notice. All questions about this notice, the proposed Settlement, or your eligibility to participate in the Settlement should be directed to the Claims Administrator or Class Counsel.

Requests for the Settlement Notice and Claim Form should be made to:

In re Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. Securities Litigation
c/o GCG
P.O. Box 10489 
Dublin, OH 43017-4089
1-866-680-8403
[email protected]
www.VirtusSecuritiesLitigation.com

Inquiries, other than requests for the Settlement Notice and Claim Form, may be made to Class Counsel:

Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
John C. Browne, Esq.
1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
1-800-380-8496
[email protected]      

Labaton Sucharow LLP
Michael H. Rogers, Esq.
140 Broadway
New York, NY 10005
1-888-219-6877
[email protected]

By Order of the Court

¹ Certain persons and entities are excluded from the Class by definition and others are excluded pursuant to request. The full definition of the Class including a complete description of who is excluded from the Class is set forth in the full Settlement Notice referred to below.

SOURCE Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Labaton Sucharow LLP