RADNOR, Pa., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was issued today by the law firm of Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP:

Notice is hereby given that a class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on behalf of all purchasers of securities of MEMC Electronics Materials, Inc. (NYSE: WFR) ('MEMC' or the 'Company') from June 13, 2008 through July 23, 2008, inclusive (the 'Class Period').

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Schiffrin Barroway Topaz & Kessler, LLP (Darren J. Check, Esq. or David M. Promisloff, Esq.) toll free at 1-888-299-7706 or 1-610-667-7706, or via e-mail at info@sbtklaw.com.

The Complaint charges MEMC and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. MEMC designs, manufactures, and sells silicon wafers for the semiconductor industry worldwide. Its products include prime polished wafers, such as OPTIA and annealed products; epitaxial wafers consisting of thin silicon layer grown on the polished surface of the wafer; and test/monitor wafers for testing semiconductor fabrication lines and processes. More specifically, the Complaint alleges that the Company failed to disclose and misrepresented the following material adverse facts which were known to defendants or recklessly disregarded by them: (1) that the Company had experienced material disruptions in its Texas and Italy facilities; (2) that such disruptions had materially hindered the Company's ability to generate expected revenues; (3) that the Company lacked adequate internal and financial controls; and (4) that, as a result of the foregoing, the Company's previously issued guidance became lacking in any reasonable basis and required immediate revision.

On July 23, 2008, the Company shocked investors when it disclosed, for the first time, that in June 2008 there was a failure of a heat-exchanger at the Company's Merano, Italy facility that reduced the Company's second quarter polysilicon output by almost five percent. Additionally, the Company informed investors that a loose pipe fitting caused a fire at the Company's Pasadena, Texas facility which resulted in a shutdown of half the silane production for approximately a week.