Radnor, Pennsylvania--(Newsfile Corp. - March 18, 2021) - The law firm of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP alerts shareholders of MultiPlan Corporation (NYSE: MPLN; MPLN.WS) ("MultiPlan") f/k/a Churchill Capital Corp. III ("Churchill III") that a securities fraud class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of : (1) those who purchased or acquired MultiPlan securities between July 12, 2020 and November 10, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period"); and (2) all holders of Churchill Capital Corp. III ("Churchill III") Class A common stock entitled to vote on Churchill III's merger with and acquisition of Polaris Parent Corp. and its consolidated subsidiaries consummated in October 2020 (the "Merger").
Investor Deadline: Investors who purchased or acquired MultiPlan securities during the Class Period may, no later than April 26, 2021, seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. For additional information or to learn how to participate in this litigation please contact Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, LLP: James Maro, Esq. (484-270-1453) or Adrienne Bell, Esq. (484-270-1435); toll free at (844) 887-9500; via e-mail at info@ktmc.com; or click https://www.ktmc.com/multiplan-corp-securities-class-action-lawsuit?utm_source=PR&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=multiplan.
Churchill III was formed in October 2019 as a special purpose acquisition vehicle. On February 14, 2020, Churchill III completed its initial public offering, selling 110 million ownership units to investors for gross proceeds of $1.1 billion (the "IPO"). Pursuant to the IPO prospectus, Churchill III was required to acquire a target business with an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets held in trust from the IPO proceeds and to do so within two years of the IPO.
On September 18, 2020, Churchill III issued the proxy statement for the Merger which urged shareholders to vote in favor of the deal (the "Proxy"). The Proxy stated that Churchill had identified MultiPlan as a potential acquisition target soon after the IPO. On the basis of the Proxy, on October 7, 2020, shareholders voted to approve the Merger at a special shareholders meeting. Because of the Proxy, shareholders were prevented from the fully informed opportunity to redeem their shares as was their right. The shares subject to redemption were valued in the Proxy at approximately $10 per share.
On November 11, 2020, one month after the close of the Merger, Muddy Waters published a report on Churchill III titled "MultiPlan: Private Equity Necrophilia Meets The Great 2020 Money Grab", which was based on extensive non-public sources such as interviews with former MultiPlan executives and other industry experts, as well as proprietary analysis. The report revealed, in part, that: (1) MultiPlan was in the process of losing its largest client, UnitedHealthcare, which was estimated to cost Churchill III up to 35% of its revenues and 80% of its levered free cash flow within two years; (2) MultiPlan was in significant financial decline because of its fundamentally flawed business model, which profited from excessively high healthcare costs; (3) UnitedHealthcare had purportedly launched a competitor, Naviguard, to reduce its business with MultiPlan and bring the over-priced and conflicted services offered by MultiPlan inhouse; and (4) MultiPlan had suffered from material, undisclosed pricing pressures that had caused it to slash the "take rate" it charged customers in half in some instances and falsely characterized revenue declines as "idiosyncratic" when in fact they were due to sustained, negative pricing trends afflicting MultiPlan's business.