Legal firm Maurice Blackburn is initiating a potential class action against Tasmanian timber company Gunns.
The claims will be funded by listed litigation firm IMF Australia (IMF).
"The Gunns claims relate to the alleged misleading or deceptive conduct and alleged breaches by Gunns of its continuous disclosure obligations," an IMF statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) said yesterday.
The alleged misconduct occurred between 31 August 2009 and 22 February 2010.
The misconduct relates to the failure of the company to disclose information to the ASX regarding its performance during the sixth-month period ended 31 December 2009.
Gunns' first-half profit for 2010 was 99 per cent down on the previous corresponding period and 97 per cent down on the market consensus forecast.
"The class action will allege that Gunns failed to disclose material information regarding its first-half performance as required by ASX listing rules," a statement from Maurice Blackburn said.
IMF said shareholders who bought Gunns securities during that period on the ASX may be eligible to take part in the claim.
At this stage the amount of claims cannot be quantified, according to IMF investment manager Simon Dluzniak.
"At this stage we are just registering interest from investors who want to join the claim," he said.
