DHAKA: Two US class action lawsuits against Facebook by shareholders alleging it hid growth concerns ahead of its 2012 public listing can now go ahead.

A federal judge certified the legal proceedings, media report, saying investors who claim they lost money could pursue their claims as groups.

Facebook told the BBC that it was disappointed with the decision and it has launched an appeal against it.

The firm’s initial public offering (IPO) in May 2012 raised $16bn.

The investors say that by purchasing the firm’s shares at inflated prices they lost money.

That year, its shares began trading on 18 May in New York at $38 per share, but the price fell to almost half the amount of $17.55 on 4 September.

The price stayed below the IPO price for more than a year, but shares ultimately rebounded and closed up at $107.26 on the Nasdaq index on Tuesday.

District judge Robert Sweet gave the lawsuits class action certification on 11 December, but the order was made public on Tuesday, media reports.

BDST: 1302 HRS, DEC 30, 2015
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