Evergreen Sues Lehman Bros.
Solar panel manufacturer Evergreen Solar Inc. of Marlborough is suing Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Barclays PLC to get back 30.9 million shares it loaned Lehman before the investment bank's spectacular bankruptcy.
In a suit filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, Evergreen claims that Lehman did not have title to the loaned shares of Evergreen's common stock. The company claims that Barclays obtained about 12.2 million of the shares in its takeover of Lehman and says Barclays "has refused to return the shares or to indicate any willingness to work with Evergreen Solar as an investment banker."
The suit also asks the court to prevent any further transfer of the shares by Barclays.
Evergreen said Lehman was obliged to return the shares as part of the July $375 million financing package of which the loan was a part. But the shares were not immediately returned upon Lehman's bankruptcy filing.
Evergreen CFO Michael El-Hillow said the company is "outraged" by the "violation of our contract with Lehman."
The fact that Barclays was able to acquire more than 12 million shares significantly compounds matters, El-Hillow said.
The company also names Lehman's European affiliate Lehman Brothers International and other Lehman entities in the suit and claims that the investment bank has "refused to respond to demands to return the shares or to even identify who held them" when the investment bank filed for bankruptcy.
Evergreen Solar stock was trading at about $3.35 per share this morning.
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