Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP and The Law Offices of Alfred G. Yates, Jr. today announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico on behalf of purchasers of AgriBioTech, Inc. common stock during the period between September 24, 1997 and August 26, 1998 (the "Class Period'').

The complaint alleges that the public investors who invested in AgriBioTech based on the Company's reported financial results, its representations about the success of the Company's consolidation strategy and its forecasts of strong revenue and earnings growth in F98-F99, paid as high as $29-1/2 per share for AgriBioTech stock during the Class Period and have suffered millions of dollars in damage as a result of defendants' fraud. During F97 and F98, AgriBioTech reported favorable financial results with strong revenue growth and profitability causing the Company's stock to trade at artificially inflated levels.

Ultimately, AgriBioTech was forced by the SEC to change its accounting practices with regard to
acquisitions and to disclose the extent of its accounting manipulations in prior quarters. AgriBioTech's reported revenues were, as a result of the manipulations, overstated by 20% in F97 and F98 and the loss it had actually incurred for F97 and F98 was converted into a profit. Upon these startling revelations, AgriBioTech's stock price declined to $8-1/8 per share, a more than 71% reduction from its Class Period high of $29-1/2.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of AgriBioTech common stock during the Class Period (the "Class''). The plaintiff is represented by several law firms, including Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP and The Law Offices of Alfred G. Yates, Jr., who have expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.

Milberg Weiss has been actively engaged in commercial litigation, emphasizing securities and antitrust class actions, for more than 30 years. The firm has offices in New York, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boca Raton and is active in major litigation pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States. The firm's reputation for excellence has been recognized on repeated occasions by courts which have appointed the firm to major positions in complex multi-district or consolidated litigations. Milberg Weiss has taken a lead role in numerous important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, and has been responsible for a number of outstanding recoveries which, in the aggregate, total approximately $2 billion.

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