Deminor Cases

2016, Japan

Clients of Deminor reached an in-court settlement before the Tokyo District Court on 26 December 2016 on the Olympus case, where they will recover 45%  of their recoverable losses for which they claimed compensation in the lawsuit. A group of more than 60 institutional investors syndicated by Deminor sought the reimbursement of damages for losses suffered following the revelation in 2011 of a decade-long fraudulent scheme at Olympus. The stock price lost more than half of its value following the announcement of accounting irregularities. Upon payment, this settlement represents the highest recovery thus far achieved by non-Japanese investors, relative to the amount of their claims, in any of the lawsuits settled so far by Olympus.

2017, U.S.

Deminor filed claims with the Madoff Victim Fund for more than 4,000 investors.  These investors had collectively suffered more than USD 200m of losses in connection with the Ponzi scheme run by the New York-based broker Bernard Madoff. The Madoff Victim Fund was set up by the U.S. Department of Justice to indemnify the victims of the Madoff fraud. As part of the filing process, investors needed to provide evidence for the existence of an investment chain between themselves and Bernard Madoff Investment Securities LLC. The filing process took around 4 years to completion and first distributions from the fund were made at the end of 2017. 

2018, Cayman Islands

Deminor advised shareholders of Zhaopin, the operator of the leading online recruitment platform in the People’s Republic of China, in connection with a merger proposed by its controlling shareholder SEEK International Investments Pty Ltd.  Zhaopin has its operational headquarters in Beijing, China. The company’s shares were listed as American Depositary Shares in New York, and its registered office is in the Cayman Islands. As part of the merger, Deminor’s clients were forced to tender their shares against a cash payment. Deminor’s clients believed that the consideration offered for their shares was below fair value. Consequently, they filed a petition with the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, where Zhaopin has its registered office, to have the court determine the shares’ fair value. In 2018, a settlement was reached.

2017, Luxembourg

Deminor advised and represented more than 800 investors in the Luxembourg-based investment fund Herald Lux SICAV, which went into liquidation after the New York broker Bernard Madoff admitted that he had operated a large-scale Ponzi scheme. Deminor’s clients sued Herald Lux and its custodian bank HSBC Security Services.  In 2017, a settlement was reached between all parties involved in the litigation. The settlement with HSBC and further settlements reached between Herald Lux and the Madoff estate will allow Herald Lux investors to recover a significant portion of their losses through Deminor.

2017, Italy

A group of former minority institutional and private shareholders of La Fondiaria Assicurazioni (“Fondiaria”), advised and assisted by Deminor, reached a settlement with UnipolSai and Mediobanca. The investors’ claims had stemmed from the takeover of Fondiaria in 2002 by a consortium of bidders. Following a long court battle up to the Court of Cassation, Deminor’s clients were able to recover a substantial part of damages claimed. Settlement terms have not been publicly disclosed.

2015, France

Deminor obtained a judgement before the court of appeal of Paris for its clients who suffered losses as a result of misleading information. The court of appeal of Paris awarded damages between 50% and 80% of the loss.

2015, The Netherlands

Deminor reached a settlement with Royal Imtech N.V. Deminor represented a group of investors who had suffered losses on their Imtech investments due to the events announced in Imtech’s press release of 4 February 2013 and Imtech’s subsequent press releases. The settlement is limited to the clients of Deminor. The parties have agreed not to disclose the details of the settlement.

2014, Italy

In connection with the Parmalat fraud in 2003, Deminor reached a second partial settlement with Parmalat Auditors on behalf of a group of approximately 4,000 retail investors and 20 institutional investors. Settlement terms have not been publicly disclosed.

2013, U.S.

Deminor reached an opt-out settlement on behalf of a group of investors in an investment fund with Madoff exposure managed by the Fairfield Greenwich group. Settlement terms have not been disclosed publicly.

2012, Switzerland

Deminor reached a settlement on behalf of a group of approximately 30 institutional investors with Sonova Holdings AG (Switzerland, Zürich) in connection with the company’s late profit warning. The recovery ratio was more than 65%.

2012, Belgium

Deminor reached a settlement on behalf of a group of around 300 private investors who had purchased bonds issued by Lehman Brothers Treasury Co. through the intermediation of Deutsche Bank Belgium.  The recovery ratio amounted to 50%.

2011, Italy

In connection with the Parmalat fraud in 2003, Deminor reached a first partial settlement with UBS, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley on behalf of a group of approximately 4,000 retail investors. The total recovery ratio was 10%.

2011, Belgium

Deminor syndicated and advised a group of approximately 800 private investors who had bought bonds issued by Lehman Brothers Treasury Co. through the intermediation of Citibank Belgium. The recovery ratio was between 65% and 75% of the nominal investment.

2009, Belgium

Deminor syndicated and advised a group of around 50 HNW investors who had invested in synthetic CDOs originated and promoted by the Belgian bank KBC. The total combined investment was in the range of EUR 100 million. The case was settled in 2011 for an undisclosed amount.

2008, Switzerland / The Netherlands

One of Deminor’s clients was appointed as lead plaintiff in the US class action, where a settlement was negotiated in 2008 for US purchasers. Deminor acted as liaison counsel in the case. The action also led to a European settlement which received final approval by the Court of Amsterdam in early 2012. The global settlement was for an amount of approximately USD 145 million.

2007, The Netherlands

Deminor defended a group of shareholders of the bank with the objective of recovering their losses following the bankruptcy of the bank. A satisfactory settlement was found at the end of 2007 for Deminor’s clients.

2005, Italy

Deminor represented a group of institutional investors in BPM ("BPM") with the objective of changing the corporate governance structure of the bank. Following increasing interest in the share, some corporate governance changes and a change of management under pressure of Deminor’s clients, the stock market price increased by 400% over the period, significantly outperforming its peers.

2003, France / Switzerland

Deminor represented a group of minority shareholders in the framework of the compulsory buy-out of minority shareholders and achieved a 50% increase of the bid price, representing a total amount of CHF 600 million.

2000, France

Negotiation of a settlement for a group of private shareholders of mutual funds invested in real estate managed by Crédit Agricole (resulting in a payment of EUR 10 million to real estate mutual funds by Crédit Agricole.

1998, Belgium

Deminor reached a settlement for a group of former cooperative shareholders of CERA bank in connection with the merger of CERA with KBC.

1997, France

Deminor advised a group of bondholders in the restructuring process of the bankrupt bank. The restructuring led to a recovery of 65%.

1993, Belgium

A successful negotiation for a group of retail and institutional shareholders of better conditions in the framework of a takeover by the French group Accor (50 % gain).