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THE IPO REGISTRATION STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS
WAS MATERIALLY FALSE AND MISLEADING
49.
In conducting the IPO, the IPO Underwriter Defendants violated Regulation M
promulgated pursuant to the Exchange Act. Rule 101(a) of Regulation M reads as follows:
Unlawful Activity. In connection with a distribution of securities, it
shall be unlawful for a distribution participant or an affiliated
purchaser of such person, directly or indirectly, to bid for,
purchase, or attempt to induce any person to bid for or purchase, a
covered security during the applicable restricted period.
17 C.F.R § 242.101.
50.
As explained by the SECs Staff Legal Bulletin No. 10, dated August 25, 2000, tie-
in agreements violate Regulation M:
Tie-in agreements are a particularly egregious form of solicited
transactions prohibited by Regulation M. As far back as 1961,
the Commission addressed reports that certain dealers participating
in distributions of new issues had been making allotments to their
customers only if such customers agreed to make some comparable
purchase in the open market after the issue was initially sold. The
Commission said that such agreements may violate the anti-
manipulative provisions of the Exchange Act, particularly Rule
10b-6 (which was replaced by Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M)
under the Exchange Act, and may violate other provisions of the
federal laws.
Solicitations and tie-in agreements for aftermarket purchases
are manipulative because they undermine the integrity of the
market as an independent pricing mechanism for the offered
security. Solicitations for aftermarket purchases give purchasers
in the offering the impression that there is a scarcity of the offered
securities. This can stimulate demand and support the pricing of
the offering. Moreover, traders in the aftermarket will not know
that the aftermarket demand, which may appear to validate the
offering price, has been stimulated by the distribution participants.
Underwriters have an incentive to artificially influence aftermarket
activity because they have underwritten the risk of the offering, and