NEW YORK, March 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against MP Materials Corp. f/k/a Fortress Value Acquisition Corp. ("MP Materials" or the "Company") (NYSE: MP; FVAC; FVAC WS; FVAC.U) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in the United States District Court for the District of Nevada, and docketed under 22-cv-00315, is on behalf of a class consisting of all persons and entities other than Defendants that purchased or otherwise acquired MP Materials securities between May 1, 2020 and February 2, 2022, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants' violations of the federal securities laws and to pursue remedies under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, against the Company and certain of its top officials.
If you are a shareholder who purchased or otherwise acquired MP Materials securities during the Class Period, you have until April 25, 2022 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
[Click here for information about joining the class action]
MP Materials engages in the ownership and operation of integrated rare earth mining and processing facilities. The Company was previously known as "Fortress Value Acquisition Corp." ("FVAC") and operated as a special purpose acquisition company ("SPAC").
In November 2020, FVAC consummated a merger with MP Mine Operations LLC ("MPMO") and Secure Natural Resources LLC ("SNR" and, collectively with MPMO, "Legacy MP Materials"), whereby, among other things, Legacy MP Materials became an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of FVAC, and FVAC changed its name from "Fortress Value Acquisition Corp." to "MP Materials Corp." (the "Business Combination"). As a result of the Business Combination, the Company began to own and operate the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine and Processing Facility ("Mountain Pass") in California.
The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business, operations, and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) FVAC had overstated its due diligence efforts and expertise with respect to identifying target companies to acquire; (ii) FVAC performed inadequate due diligence into Legacy MP Materials prior to the Business Combination, or else ignored significant red flags regarding, inter alia, Legacy MP Materials' management, compliance policies, and Mountain Pass's profitability; (iii) as a result, the Company's future business and financial prospects post-Business Combination were overstated; (iv) MP Materials engaged in an abusive transfer price manipulation scheme with a related party in the People's Republic of China ("China") to artificially inflate the Company's profits; (v) MP Materials' ore at Mountain Pass was not economically viable to harvest for rare earth metals; and (vi) as a result, the Company's public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On February 3, 2022, Bonitas Research published a report (the "Bonitas Report") accusing MP Materials of executing an "abusive transfer price manipulation scheme" with a related party in China, Shenghe Resources Holding Co., Ltd. ("Shenghe"), which owned 7.7% of the Company as of March 22, 2021. Specifically, the Bonitas Report alleged that, since the second quarter of 2021, MP Materials and Shenghe "executed an abusive transfer price manipulation scheme whereby Shenghe overpaid for MP [Materials] concentrates to artificially inflate MP [Materials'] profits, [which] conveniently coincided with the SPAC insider lock-up expiration so that MP [Materials] insiders could sell MP [Materials] stock at artificially inflated prices." In addition, the Bonitas Report cited a September 2019 German academic study that concluded MP [Materials'] ore at Mountain Pass is "not economically viable to harvest for rare earth metals while 12 of the other 13 well known rare earth mines outside of China are economically feasible" at current market prices.
On this news, MP Materials' stock price fell $5.61 per share, or 14.25%, to close at $33.75 per share on February 3, 2022, on unusually heavy trading volume of 12,371,789 shares.
Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com
CONTACT:
Robert S. Willoughby
Pomerantz LLP
[email protected]
888-476-6529 ext. 7980
SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
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