PAR SUED FOR RESTATING FINANCIAL RESULTS

Attorneys representing Par Pharmaceutical's investors have filed a lawsuit after the company announced it would restate its previously reported financial results.

Par's share price fell 26 percent after it announced July 6 that it will be restating its financial results for fiscal years 2004, 2005 and the first quarter of 2006, law firm Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld said in a statement Aug. 18. Additionally, the firm said, Par in a regulatory filing said it is the subject of an informal investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission related to the restatement. The firm has filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey on behalf of investors that bought Par stock between April 29, 2004, and July 5, 2006.

The suit alleges that, during that period, Par "reported financial results that were materially inflated as a result of accounting errors."

The lawyers said the accounting errors include a $55 million understatement of credits and deductions granted to customers, which inflated reported revenue and operating profits. Par also plans to write off approximately $15 million in inventory because of faulty inventory procedures.