Concluding that scienter was not adequately alleged, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York dismissed a securities fraud class action brought against Hardinge Inc. by shareholders. Shareholders in Hardinge Inc. sued the company and certain of its officers alleging securities fraud arising from misstatements made concerning the company's efforts to increase its direct sales employees and lessen its dependence on distributors in certain regions. The complaint alleged that as a result of the misstatements, the plaintiffs purchased Hardinge stock at inflated prices and suffered economic losses when the stock rapidly lost value following the disclosure of the true facts that the defendants fraudulently concealed. The defendants moved to dismiss the complaint. The district court concluded that the plaintiff's allegations with respect to Hardinge's direct sales capacity in certain regions lacked the requisite specificity under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In essence, the complaint alleged that the defendants omitted material facts and issued misleading "literally true" statements about increasing the company's direct sales presence and decreasing its distributorship operations, causing an increase in inventory during the transition period. The challenged omissions related to production and trade barrier information in China, the implementation of a pilot direct sales program and the causes of an increase in inventory. The district court found these factors, when viewed in relation to the company's overall business, not to be material. The plaintiff's pleadings themselves established that changes in business circumstances were so significant that the company was required by the end of the first quarter of 2007 to issue a statement in order to avoid misleading a reasonable investor, indicating a non-culpable motivation for the public statement. The evidence, taken as a whole, more strongly supported a non-fraudulent inference as to the defendants' motivation in not disclosing the challenged omissions; namely, that the defendants felt that from a business standpoint the information was not highly relevant, and that as a result they were under no obligation to disclose the information. Accordingly, the defendants' motion to dismiss was granted.

Hardinge Inc. expected to Report Q1 2010 Results on May 3, 2010. This event was calculated by Capital IQ (Created on March 1, 2010).

Hardinge Inc. announced that in connection with the distribution of Rights, the company entered into a Rights Agreement with Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as the Rights Agent, dated February 18, 2010 The Board of Directors has adopted this Rights Agreement to protect stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics. In general terms, it works by imposing a significant penalty upon any person or group which acquires 20% or more of the outstanding common stock of the Company without the approval of the Board of Directors. The Rights Agreement should not interfere with any merger or other business combination approved by the Board of Directors. In connection with the foregoing, the company filed on February 19, 2010 a Certificate of Amendment with the Department of State of the State of New York for the purpose of amending its Restated Certificate of Incorporation in order to establish the designation, number, relative rights, preferences and limitations of the Series B Preferred Stock. The Certificate of Amendment also eliminated from the Certificate of Incorporation the provisions thereof in respect of the Series A Preferred Stock, of which no shares are outstanding. The Certificate of Amendment became effective upon its filing with the Department of State of the State of New York.

HARDINGE INC Files SEC form 10-K, Annual Report

Market Watch for Hardinge Inc. Issued by StockPreacher

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HARDINGE INC Files SEC form 8-K, Material Modification to Rights of Security Holders, Amendments to Articles of Inc.

Hardinge Inc. Rejects Romi's Unsolicited Proposal as Grossly Inadequate and Opportunistic

Hardinge Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2009 Results

UPDATE - Romi says still interested to discuss Hardinge buyout

Romi Responds to Hardinge's Rejection of Acquisition Offer

Levi & Korsinsky, LLP Investigates Possible Breach of Fiduciary Duty by the Board of Hardinge Inc. - HDNG

Hardinge Board to Review Unsolicited Proposal from Romi

Market Watch for Hardinge Inc. Issued by StockPreacher

Romi Comments on Hardinge Announcement

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces Investigation On Behalf of Shareholders of Hardinge Inc.

UPDATE - Romi says prefers to discuss Hardinge buyout offer

Romi Comments on Hardinge Announcement

UPDATE - Hardinge to evaluate Romi's buyout offer

Hardinge Board to Review Unsolicited Proposal from Romi

Law Offices of Howard G. Smith Announces Investigation On Behalf of Shareholders of Hardinge Inc.