NEW YORK, May 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The proposed acquisition of Ann, Inc. ("ANN" or the "Company") by Ascena Retail Group, Inc. ("ASNA") is being investigated by WeissLaw LLP for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the Board of Directors of ANN. On May 18, 2015, the Company agreed to sell itself for an implied $47 per share, based on ASNA's May 15, 2015 closing price of $14.21, or approximately $2.1 billion, a 21% premium to ANN's Friday closing price. Under the agreement, ANN shareholders will receive $37.34 cash and 0.68 of an ASNA share for each ANN share owned, owning only 16% of the combined company after the merger.

WeissLaw is investigating whether ANN's Board acted to maximize shareholder value prior to entering into the agreement. Notably, prior to the announcement, at least one analyst set a price target of $48 per share, or $1.00 above the offer price. Additionally, the Company would be adding 1,000 stores and more than $2.5 billion in annual sales to ASNA. Furthermore, ANN recently announced positive financial results, reporting total net sales of $647.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2014, as compared to $623.3 million in the same period of the previous year, continuing its generation in recent years of consistent sales growth, and has a very high 50+% gross profit margin.

Given these facts, WeissLaw is investigating the Board's decision to sell ANN and whether ANN shareholders will obtain their fair and proportionate share of the Company's continued success and future growth prospects. If you own ANN shares and would like more information about your rights or our investigation, or if you have information to share with us, please contact Joshua Rubin by telephone at (888) 593-4771 or by email at stockinfo@weisslawllp.com.

WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at stockinfo@weisslawllp.com or fill out the form on our website, http://www.weisslawllp.com/contact/report_fraud/.

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SOURCE WeissLaw LLP