Harman Fails to Ditch Securities Lawsuit Over Samsung Merger

Harman International failed to convince a federal judge in Connecticut to throw out a proposed class action alleging the company issued a false and misleading proxy statement in the lead up to its acquisition by Samsung Electronics Co.

Former shareholder Patricia B. Baum filed suit in February 2017, saying that Harman’s corporate board sought to downplay the company’s value to make the Samsung acquisition seem fair to shareholders.

In 2019, Judge Robert N. Chatigny of the U.S. District Court of Connecticut partly granted a motion to dismiss.

The defendants then sought dismissal of the surviving claims. But Chatigny held ...