Class-action lawsuit claims Vonage broke securities laws
Vonage Holdings Corp., the Internet phone company whose shares have fallen 28 percent since their debut, has been accused in a class-action lawsuit of violating securities laws and improperly selling shares to customers.
The suit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey by Mount Pleasant, S.C.-based Motley Rice LLC, according to the law firm’s website.
On May 23, Vonage amended a May 22 filing and repeated a warning that it may have made technical errors in its initial public offering, which raised $531 million.
The lawsuit alleges that Vonage, its directors and underwriters violated National Association of Securities Dealers rules when it presold 13.5 percent of the IPO to customers. Vonage did so because there wasn’t enough demand for the offering from institutional investors, the law firm said. The company was also accused of misleading investors in its prospectus. The suit seeks to recover damages for people who lost money on the IPO, according to Motley Rice.
About 10,000 of Holmdel, N.J.-based Vonage’s 1.6 million customers agreed to buy shares, priced at $17. Some have said they won’t pay for the shares; Vonage responded by saying it reserved the right to force the purchasers to pay.
DENVER
Avaya, 700 workers reach tentative pact
About 700 union workers at two metro-area Avaya offices have reached a tentative three- year contract with the telephone-equipment company, narrowly averting a strike.
The new contract includes a “no-layoff” guarantee. About a dozen Denver workers walked a picket line one day in mid-May during negotiations, saying they were afraid their jobs would be sent to India.
The Avaya contract, negotiated in Washington, D.C., covers about 2,900 Communications Workers of America Local 7777 workers across the country.
MYSTIC, Conn.
Agreement to resume DIA flight-tech work
Flight Safety Technologies Inc., based in Mystic, Conn., said it has reached an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corp. on language for ownership rights to intellectual property to allow it to renew work and complete re storation of its test site, equipment and data at Denver International Airport.
Some patent issues remain unresolved. Flight Safety Technologies is testing wake vortex sensor technology at DIA that air- traffic controllers would use to safely separate planes during takeoffs and landings, and allow airports far more landings and takeoffs per hour.
GREENWOOD VILLAGE
Ex-Janus manager co-founds new fund
Former Janus Capital Group Inc. portfolio manager Sandy Rufenacht and Aquila Management Corp. started a junk-bond mutual fund to add to Aquila’s current municipal-bond lineup.
Rufenacht, 41, managed Janus High Yield Fund from 1996 to 2003, when he started Three Peaks Capital Management LLC. The new fund, called Aquila Three Peaks High Income, invests in corporate bonds with higher yields than investment- grade bonds, according to a statement Monday from New York- based Aquila.
DENVER
Qwest personalizes “Windows Live” site
Qwest high-speed Internet customers can now log on to a personalized version of “Windows Live.” A Qwest mockup of what customers will see on their “Windows Live” website includes e-mail, Qwest customer service and billing, and other services of the user’s choice, like a stock tracker or the latest Netflix reviews.
Qwest said Monday it signed a contract with Microsoft Corp. to co-brand Microsoft’s services, the first in the United States to do so. Both companies declined to disclose terms of the contract.
DALLAS
EchoStar taps Texas firm’s voice platform
Intervoice Inc., a Dallas-based provider of converged voice and information solutions, announced Monday that Douglas County-based EchoStar Communications Corp. will be using the Intervoice Voice Automation Platform to enhance customer self-service to its 12 million subscribers.
The voice platform will give EchoStar subscribers a quick and easy way to access information and complete transactions via phone.
BOULDER
CU endows chair for leadership programs
The University of Colorado at Boulder announced Monday it has established the Quigg and Virginia S. Newton Endowed Chair in Leadership to honor the former CU president and mayor of Denver.
The chair will guide a diverse array of existing campus leadership programs, interim chancellor Phil DiStefano and provost Susan Avery said Monday. A search committee is being formed, and the chair could be filled as early as September.
LAKEWOOD
Gasoline prices topic of town-hall meeting
Communities United to Strengthen America will sponsor a town-hall meeting on gas prices at 7 p.m. today at the Jefferson County Public Library, 10200 W. 20th Ave.
Members of the Sierra Club, the National Renewable Energy Lab, the Colorado-Wyoming Petroleum Marketers Association and others are scheduled to attend. For more information, call Dan Mahoney at 303-980-7900, ext. 108.
FORT COLLINS
Woodward Governor lands naval contract
Fort Collins-based Woodward Governor Co. on Monday received an $11.6 million contract from the Navy to produce engine parts for some of the Navy’s ships. The work is expected to be completed by June 2010.
CHICAGO
Reuters: UAL weighs merger possibilities
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. has explored merger possibilities with Delta and Continental Airlines, said an industry source familiar with airline planning, Reuters reported Sunday.
According to Reuters, the source said UAL believes Continental would be a better fit operationally, but Delta’s Atlanta hub makes it attractive.
WASHINGTON
$15 billion in 3-month T-bills sold at auction
The Treasury Department on Monday auctioned $15 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 4.710 percent and an additional $14 billion in six-month bills at a rate of 4.815 percent.
The discount rates reflect that the bills sell for less than face value. For a $10,000 bill, the three- month price was $9,880.94, while a six-month bill sold for $9,756.58.
