Emageon Settles Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit
27 März 2009 - 1:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., March 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Emageon Inc.
(NASDAQ: EMAG), a leading provider of technology solutions for
hospitals and healthcare networks, today announced that it and the
other named defendants in the putative class action lawsuit that
was filed on March 13, 2009 in connection with the proposed
acquisition of Emageon by AMICAS, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMCS) have entered
into a memorandum of understanding with counsel for the plaintiff.
Pursuant to the terms of the memorandum, the parties have agreed to
settle the lawsuit, subject to court approval, at which time the
lawsuit will be dismissed with prejudice. Emageon and the other
defendants maintain that the lawsuit is completely without merit.
Nevertheless, in order to avoid costly litigation and eliminate the
risk of any delay to the closing of the tender offer and subsequent
merger, the defendants have agreed to the settlement contemplated
in the memorandum. Pursuant to the terms of the memorandum, Emageon
has agreed to provide certain additional information to its
stockholders regarding the pending tender offer by AMICAS and the
merger contemplated thereby. The additional information, which will
be provided through publicly available filings, will supplement the
Tender Offer Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule
14D-9 that was previously mailed by Emageon. In return, the
plaintiff agreed under the memorandum to the dismissal of the
lawsuit. In addition, Emageon agreed not to object to a request by
plaintiff's counsel for an award of fees and expenses up to a
specified amount. An award of fees and expenses to the plaintiff's
counsel will not affect the amount of merger consideration to be
paid in the tender offer or subsequent merger. The details of the
settlement will be set forth in a notice to be sent to Emageon's
stockholders prior to a hearing before the court to consider both
the settlement and any fee application filed by the plaintiff's
counsel. The additional information to supplement Emageon's Tender
Offer Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 will
also be set forth in a Current Report on Form 8-K that Emageon will
file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The additional
information should be read in conjunction with the Tender Offer
Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9, as
supplemented to date. About Emageon Emageon provides information
technology systems for hospitals, healthcare networks and imaging
facilities. Its enterprise family of solutions includes
RadSuite(TM), HeartSuite(TM) and other specialty suites. All
Emageon solutions are built on a unified Enterprise Content
Management system offering advanced visualization and
infrastructure tools for the clinical analysis and management of
digital medical images, reports and associated clinical content.
Emageon's standards-based solutions are designed to help customers
enhance patient care, automate workflow, lower costs, improve
productivity and provide better service to physicians. For more
information, please visit http://www.emageon.com/. Important
Additional Information About the Transaction This press release is
neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell
any securities. The solicitation and the offer to buy shares of
Emageon common stock are being made pursuant to an offer to
purchase and related materials that AMICAS Acquisition Corp., a
wholly-owned subsidiary of AMICAS, Inc., has filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission and mailed to Emageon's
stockholders. AMICAS Acquisition Corp. has filed a tender offer
statement on Schedule TO with the Securities and Exchange
Commission with respect to the offer, and Emageon has filed a
solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 with
respect to the offer. The tender offer statement (including an
offer to purchase, a related letter of transmittal and other offer
documents) and the solicitation/recommendation statement contain
important information that should be read carefully and considered
before any decision is made with respect to the tender offer. These
materials are available at no charge from the Securities and
Exchange Commission through its website at http://www.sec.gov/ or
by contacting the Investor Relations Department of Emageon.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain
statements contained in this press release regard matters that are
not historical facts and are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Because such
forward-looking statements contain risks and uncertainties, actual
results may differ materially from those expressed in or implied by
such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: the
occurrence of any event, change or other circumstance that could
give rise to the termination of the merger agreement; court
approval of the memorandum of understanding referenced in this
release; the outcome of any legal proceedings that have been or may
be instituted against Emageon and others related to the merger
agreement; the failure to satisfy any conditions to the offer or
the completion of the merger; risks that the proposed transaction
disrupts current plans and operations and the potential
difficulties in employee retention as a result of the tender offer
and subsequent merger; risks regarding a loss of or decrease in
purchases by Emageon's major customers as a result of the tender
offer and subsequent merger; and the amount of the costs, fees,
expenses and charges related to the tender offer and subsequent
merger. The business of Emageon is also subject to a number of
risks generally such as: competition from larger competitors; risks
associated with a history of operating losses; reliance on
continuing relationships with large customers; the risk of
significant product errors or product failures; reliance on
reseller arrangements for important components of its solution; the
risk of not responding effectively to changes in its industry;
customers' reliance on third party reimbursements; risks regarding
the potential impact on its business of FDA regulations and other
applicable health care regulations; and other risks that are set
forth in the "Risk Factors," "Legal Proceedings" and "Management
Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial
Condition" sections of, and elsewhere in, the filings that Emageon
makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of the
factors that will determine the outcome of the subject matter of
this press release are beyond Emageon's ability to control or
predict. Emageon undertakes no obligation to release publicly the
results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that
may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date
hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except
as required by law. DATASOURCE: Emageon Inc. CONTACT: Investor:
John Wilhoite, CFO, +1-205-980-9222, , Media: Bill Funderburk,
Director, Marketing & Public Relations, +1-205-980-7542, , both
of Emageon Inc. Web Site: http://www.emageon.com/
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