John Ford, Trustee of the John Ford Trust v. UGI Corporation

Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP is lead counsel in a securities class action against UGI Corporation (UGI or the Company), and certain of its senior executives (collectively, Defendants).  The action asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, on behalf of all persons or entities who purchased or otherwise acquired Nielsen common stock between February 11, 2016, and July 25, 2018, inclusive (the Class Period).

UGI is a Pennsylvania energy corporation.  Its self-described business strategy is to grow the Company by focusing on its “core competencies” of distributing, storing, transporting and marketing energy products and services.  On August 21, 2019, UGI acquired the remaining 74% of AmeriGas it did not already own, consisting of 69.2 million publicly held common units of AmeriGas.  For each of these units, former AmeriGas unitholders received varying combinations of cash and UGI publicly traded common stock.  To affect the transaction, UGI conducted an offering of 34,621,411 shares of UGI publicly traded common stock (the “Offering”).  As alleged in the Amended Complaint, within months of the Acquisition, UGI revealed the true nature of its business and the mounting adverse impact that warmer-than-average winters and climate change had already been having on its businesses before the Offering.

Plaintiff’s claims arise from allegedly material misstatements and omissions made by Defendants in the Registration Statement issued in connection with UGI’s acquisition of AmeriGas.  Plaintiff alleges the Registration Statement for the Offering presented highly favorable information about UGI, its operations, and its financial prospects, and omitted material information about UGI’s capacity management business and revenue derived therefrom and misrepresented the mounting risks associated with persisting warmer-than normal weather patterns and the adverse impact of climate change on UGI’s business.  In violation of the Securities Act, Plaintiff alleges the Registration Statement contained inaccurate statements of material fact, because Defendants failed to disclose and misrepresented material adverse facts that existed at the time of the Offering.

The operative Amended Complaint was filed on March 5, 2021.  The complaint alleged violations of Sections 11, 12(a)(2), and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act) for alleged misstatements and omissions in the offering documents filed in connection with UGI’s August 21, 2019, Acquisition of AmeriGas and the related Offering.

In early 2022, the Parties agreed to mediate the case.  The Parties engaged Jed D. Melnick, Esq., a well-respected and experienced mediator affiliated with JAMS, to assist them in exploring a potential negotiated resolution.  On March 31, 2022, counsel for the Parties met with Mediator Melnick in an attempt to reach a settlement.  During this session, the Parties reached an agreement in principle to settle the claims against all Defendants.  On April 29, 2022, Defendants produced documents to Plaintiff in connection with due diligence discovery conducted after the Mediation.

The case is John Ford, Trustee of the John Ford Trust v. UGI Corporation et al., No. 2021-00391, in the Court of Common Pleas, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.  Labaton Keller Sucharow represents plaintiff John Ford, Trustee of the John Ford Trust.

Submit Claim Form

If you purchased or acquired UGI Corporation publicly traded common stock pursuant and/or traceable to the Registration Statement issued in connection with UGI’s August 21, 2019, acquisition of AmeriGas Partners L.P., you may be entitled to a payment from a class action settlement.  To be eligible for a payment, you must submit a Claim Form to the Claims Administrator by December 30, 2022.

Settlement Hearing

The Court held a Settlement Hearing on November 30, 2022, and approved the Settlement and Plan of Allocation, and awarded attorneys’ fees and expenses.

If you have questions about the Settlement, please contact Labaton Keller Sucharow at settlementquestions@labaton.com or 1-888-219-6877, or contact the Claims Administrator, at 1-877-237-6047.

Additional information about the Settlement can also be found at www.UGISecuritiesSettlement.com.