What is the A2 Milk Class Action about?
The class action alleges that between 19 August 2020 and 7 May 2021, A2M engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct, breaching its continuous disclosure obligations, and failing to adequately disclose future trade plans.
It is further alleged that by 19 August 2020, A2M was, or ought to have been aware that their FY21 guidance, and subsequent representations, did not adequately take into account a number of factors known to A2M which ultimately impacted the Company’s financial performance, resulting in a 62% drop in market value in FY21. These factors include:
The decline in daigou or reseller sales, which fell due to the impact of A2M’s sales through its Cross Border e-Commerce Channel (CBEC). This saw A2M heavily market English labelled infant products directly into the Chinese market with discounting that effectively undercut their sales in the daigou or reseller channel; and
The decline in the CBEC business due to the decline in daigou or reseller sales, as daigou sales often help stimulate demand for direct orders.
If you acquired A2M shares in Australia (ASX) or New Zealand (NZX) between 19 August 2020 and 7 May 2021, or before 19 August 2020 and held your shares until after 28 September 2020, you may be eligible to join this class action.
Can I join the A2 Milk Class Action?
To be part of this class action you must have:
Purchased Australian or New Zealand shares either on the ASX or NZX in The A2 Milk Company Limited (ASX:A2M and NZX:ATM) during the period 19 August 2020 to 7 May 2021.
OR
Purchased Australian or New Zealand shares either on the ASX or NZX in The A2 Milk Company Limited (ASX:A2M and NZX:ATM) before 19 August 2020 and held them until at least after 28 September 2020.
If you meet this criteria, you may be entitled to compensation, and you are encouraged to register for the A2 Milk Class Action.
How to register for the A2 Milk Class Action
To register on a confidential, no-cost, no-obligation basis, please click the button below and fill out the form.
Background to the A2 Milk Class Action
Shine Lawyers’ Class Actions Team commenced a class action against A2M following reports of alleged misconduct in connection with multiple downgrades of the milk company’s expected revenue in FY21.
The following timeline highlights the series of events that led to the drop in market value:
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a class action?
When Governments, large companies or institutions do the wrong thing and people are harmed or suffer loss as a result, an individual can have little to no means of bringing a legal claim.
Class actions are an important mechanism within Australia’s legal system that allow large groups of people to come together to pursue a claim collectively.
For a class action to take place, there are three criteria that need to be met:
There must be 7 or more people that have claims against the same defendant; and
The claims relate to the same or similar circumstances; and
The claim must relate to at least one common issue of law or fact.
For more information about how class actions resolve, click here.
Does it cost anything to join a class action?
Shine Lawyers is committed to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background or financial situation, has access to justice. We run our class actions in a way that means you are not exposed to any costs or financial risk, so joining a class action will cost you nothing.
When a class action is successful, the legal fees and costs to run the class action are deducted from the settlement amount that is approved by the Court. If the class action is unsuccessful, we will ensure there are no out-of-pocket costs to you.
How long do class actions take to resolve?
It can take up to several years for a class action to resolve. The time taken from case commencement through to resolution and settlement administration depends on the particular case, and the nature of the claim.
For more information about class actions and how they work, click here.
Will my contact details be kept private?
Yes, your contact details will remain confidential and we will seek your consent before disclosing any of your personal information (including before such disclosure is required by the Court).
Shine Lawyers will only use your personal information strictly for the purpose of the legal proceedings.
What is daigou or the reseller market?
Daigou, which means ‘buy on behalf of’ in Chinese, consists of a vast network of both retail or small and corporate resellers in Australia. The resellers take individual orders through platforms like WeChat and then ship requested products to China.
Daigou can fall into two categories:
Retail daigou: are generally a group of international students and tourists who purchase goods from retail stores and send them back to China; and
Corporate daigou: are digital marketing and consultancy companies that have large numbers of daigou agents in their business operations with formal channels or digital platforms to manage product procurement, delivery and other logistics.
What is Cross Border eCommerce (CBEC)?
Cross Border e-Commerce (CBEC) is a state sanctioned means of importing products into China. CBEC is where Chinese domestic consumers purchase goods from overseas via third party e-Commerce platforms. The platforms include Alibaba, Net Ease Koala and JD Worldwide. The advantage of CBEC for a business is that a Chinese presence, and thus compliance with Chinese regulations, are not required by the business.
CBEC is also characterised by frequent discounting to attract sales. Similar to black Friday and Boxing Day sales events, China has “11/11 singles day” in November and “6/18” in June.
I'm located overseas, can I still join the class action?
Yes, whether you live in Australia, New Zealand or overseas, if you purchased shares in the A2 Milk Company Limited during the period 19 August 2020 to 7 May 2021, you are encouraged to join the class action.
Meet the A2 Milk Class Action team
Shine Lawyers’ A2 Milk Class Action team includes some of the firm’s most experienced litigators, solicitors and support staff. You can learn more about the team running this class action by clicking on their profile below.
