IF YOU PURCHASED SHARES OF HARMAN INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRIES, INC. COMMON STOCK BETWEEN APRIL 26, 2007 AND FEBRUARY 5, 2008, INCLUSIVE, YOU COULD RECEIVE A PAYMENT FROM A PROPOSED CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT

The Court’s Final Approval Hearing

The Final Approval Hearing will be held on September 28, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. before the Honorable Rudolph Contreras at the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse, 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Courtroom 14, Washington D.C. 20001, to determine:

      I.           whether the proposed settlement of the Action on the terms and conditions provided for in the Settlement is fair, reasonable, adequate, and in the best interests of the Class and should be approved by the Court;

     II.           whether a judgment should be entered, as proposed in the Settlement, which, among other things, would dismiss the Action against Defendants with prejudice and release, on behalf of the Class, the Released Claims against the Released Parties (the “Judgment”);

   III.           whether, for purposes of the Settlement, the Class should be finally certified; whether Lead Plaintiff should be finally appointed as Class Representative for the Class; and whether Lead Counsel should be finally appointed as Class Counsel for the Class;

    IV.           whether the proposed Plan of Allocation is reasonable and should be approved by the Court; and

     V.           whether Lead Counsel’s request for an award of attorneys’ fees and reimbursement of Litigation Expenses should be approved by the Court.

The Court may change the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing without another notice being sent to Class Members. Please check this website for any updates to the date and time of the Final Approval Hearing.

What This Case is About

The Complaint in this Action asserts, among other things, that in violation of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), Defendants misled investors by misrepresenting or concealing the true nature of Harman’s personal navigation device (“PND”) business.  In particular, the Complaint asserts that Defendants knowingly or recklessly represented to investors that the Company’s PND business was strong and poised for growth when in reality the Company’s inventory of PNDs was ballooning and Defendants were unable to meet their PND sales targets.  When the market learned the truth about the Company’s PND business, the price of Harman’s common stock declined and investors were allegedly harmed.

Lead Plaintiff filed a motion for class certification on April 1, 2016 and the parties began active discovery.  The discovery conducted in this Action was extensive.  Lead Plaintiff reviewed over 32,000 documents; produced over 600 documents on behalf of Lead Plaintiff; issued four document subpoenas to non-parties; and prepared for and defended the deposition of Lead Plaintiff, three of Lead Plaintiff’s investment managers, and Lead Plaintiff’s market efficiency expert.  Lead Plaintiff also deposed Defendants’ market efficiency expert in connection with class certification.

On September 16, 2016, Lead Plaintiff, Defendants and certain of Defendants’ insurance carriers (the “D&O Insurers”) participated in a full-day mediation session with the Honorable Daniel Weinstein (Ret.) of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (“JAMS”).  Although a resolution was not reached during the mediation session, the parties continued to engage in arms-length negotiations through Judge Weinstein during the weeks that followed the mediation.  On November 17, 2016, Judge Weinstein made a mediator’s proposal to settle the case for $28,250,000.  On November 18, 2016, Lead Plaintiff, Defendants and the D&O Insurers accepted the mediator’s proposal and agreed, subject to Court approval, to settle the Action.

Defendants have denied and continue to deny each and all of the claims alleged by Lead Plaintiff in the Action and affirm that they acted properly and lawfully at all times.  Defendants have expressly denied and continue to deny all charges of wrongdoing or liability against them arising out of any and all of the conduct, statements, acts or omissions alleged, or that could have been alleged, in the Action.  Defendants have, however, taken into account the uncertainty and risks inherent in any litigation, especially in a complex case such as this.  Defendants have concluded that further conduct of the Action would be protracted and expensive, and that it is desirable that the Action be fully and finally settled in the manner and upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Settlement.

The Settlement Benefits

Subject to Court approval, Lead Plaintiff, on behalf of itself and the Class, has agreed to settle all Released Claims against Defendants and the Released Parties in exchange for a settlement payment of $28,250,000 in cash (the “Settlement Amount”) to be deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account (the “Settlement Fund”) and certain other terms.  The Settlement Fund less all Taxes, Notice and Administration Costs, and attorneys’ fees and Litigation Expenses that may be awarded by the Court to Lead Counsel and Lead Plaintiff (the “Net Settlement Fund”) will be distributed to members of the Class in accordance with the plan of allocation (the “Plan of Allocation”) that is subject to approval by the Court.  The proposed Plan of Allocation is included in the Notice, and may be modified by the Court without further notice.