INVESTOR NOTICE: MURRAY, FRANK & SAILER LLP IS INVESTIGATING A POTENTIAL SHAREHOLDER CLASS ACTION AGAINST BROOKS AUTOMATION, INC. - BRKS

New York, NY July 17, 2006 - Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP is investigating a potential class action on behalf of shareholders who purchased or otherwise acquired the securities of Brooks Automation, Inc. (“Brooks” or the “Company”) (NasdaqNM: BRKS) between July 25, 2001 and May 22, 2006, inclusive (the “Class Period”). 

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The complaint would allege that during the Class Period, defendants violated Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Sections 11, 12 and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933 by publicly issuing a series of false and misleading statements regarding the Company's business and financial results, thus causing Brooks's shares to trade at artificially inflated prices.

In particular, the Complaint would alleged that on March 18, 2006, The Wall Street Journal published a story titled "The Perfect Payday - Some CEOs reap millions by landing stock options when they are most valuable; Luck - or something else?" that identified Brooks as one of several companies "with wildly improbable option-grant patterns." On April 26, 2006, Brooks disclosed that its Board of Directors created a special committee to conduct an internal review of matters related to past stock option grants, including the timing of such grants and associated documentation.

The Complaint would further allege that on May 11, 2006, Brooks issued a press release titled "Brooks Automation to Restate Past Periods Related to Certain Stock Option Grants," that stated, in part, that "the Company will be required to correct certain SEC filings, including particularly its financial statements contained in filings for some or all of the periods commencing in fiscal 1999 and ending in fiscal 2005." Brooks further stated that "[t]he Company believes that it accounted for certain matters concerning stock options incorrectly, and as a result recognized less compensation expense than it should have in periods prior to fiscal 2006." On May 18, 2006, Amin J. Khoury and Roger D. Emerick reportedly resigned from the Company's Board of Directors.

The Complaint also would allege that the Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an informal inquiry concerning stock option grant practices to determine whether violations of the federal securities laws have occurred and Brooks has allegedly received a grand jury document subpoena from the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York requesting records pertaining to the granting of stock options.   Also, during the Class Period, certain Company insiders sold approximately 320,000 Brooks shares at artificially inflates prices for proceeds of approximately $6.4 million.

It is alleged that, as a result of the Company's recent disclosures, that since March 20, 2006, the first trading day after the above-noted Wall Street Journal article of March 18, 2006, shares of Brooks have declined from $13.88 per share at the opening of trading on March 20, 2006, to close at $12 per share at the close of trading on May 23, 2006, a decline of $1.88 per share, or approximately 14%.

Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP and its predecessor firms have devoted its practice to shareholder class actions and complex commercial litigation for more than fifteen years and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for shareholders in class actions throughout the United States.   If you would like to discuss this action, this announcement, or your rights and interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel Bradley P. Dyer of Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP.

CONTACT:

Murray, Frank & Sailer LLP
Bradley P. Dyer
(800) 497-8076
(212) 682-1818
Fax: (212) 682-1892
Email: [email protected]

 



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