Plaintiff's law firm issued a press release on October 25, 2018, announcing the filing of the lawsuit. According to the press release, Jianpu Technology Inc. ("Jainpu") operates an on-line platform under the brand name “Rong360” in the People’s Republic of China. The Company’s revenues are primarily generated from fees paid by financial service providers for loan recommendation services.
On October 20, 2017, Jianpu filed with the SEC a Form F-1 Registration Statement for the IPO, which was declared effective by the SEC on November 15, 2017. On November 17, 2017, Jianpu filed with the SEC a Prospectus for the IPO, which forms part of the Registration Statement. Jianpu sold 22.5 million ADS at $8.00 per share in the IPO, raising net proceeds of approximately $164.9 million.
The Complaint alleges that the Registration Statement and Prospectus for the IPO contained inaccurate statements of material fact and/or omitted material information required to be disclosed in order to make such statements not misleading. Specifically, the Registration Statement and Prospectus failed to disclose, among other things, that the China Banking Regulatory Commission and three other Chinese regulators had issued rules in August 2016 requiring peer-to-peer ("P2P") lending companies to, among other things, appoint qualified banking institutions as custodians and disclose their use of deposits, and that China had determined to create the Financial Stability and Development Committee ("FSDC") under its State Council to coordinate major financial reforms, as well as to implement market regulation and monetary and industrial policy, all of which would likely result in the disqualification of a significant majority of P2P lenders in China resulting in a dramatic reduction in the total number of existing, as well as potential, financial service providers that had been the primary source of Jianpu’s revenue.
On November 21, 2017, just two business days after the IPO, several new sources announced that the FSDC had issued an urgent notice to provincial governments urging them to suspend regulatory approval of new internet micro-loan companies. Thereafter, the price of Jianpu ADS fell more than 38% during the three-day period ended November 24, 2017, to close at $4.90 per ADS.
On January 10, 2019, the Court issued an Order appointing Lead Plaintiff and Counsel. Lead Plaintiff filed an amended Complaint on March 28. Defendants filed a Motion to Dismiss the amended Complaint on September 19. On September 27, 2020, the Court issued an Order denying Defendants' Motion to Dismiss.
On August 27, 2021, the parties notified the Court that they had reached an agreement-in-principle to settle the case. On November 15, the parties entered into a Stipulation of Settlement. The Court granted preliminary approval of the Settlement on December 30. On May 12, 2022, the Court granted final approval of the Settlement, including an award of Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses, and entered Final Judgment.