PPGM and HP have agreed to settle a 2012 securities class action for $100 million. Source: PGGMHewlett-Packard Co. (HP) has reached an agreement with Dutch pension fund service provider PGGM Vermogensbeheer BV to settle a dispute arising from an $8.8 billion impairment charge taken by HP following its acquisition of Autonomy Corp. plc.
PGGM (Zeist, The Netherlands) is the lead plaintiff in a securities class action. The settlement comes despite HP's stated belief that the class action has no merit.
The settlement will see $100 million paid into a fund to compensate people who purchased HP shares during the period between Aug. 19, 2011, and Nov. 20, 2012, the company says in statement.
The background to the dispute is the acquisition of Autonomy (Cambridge, England), a UK data analysis company, for more than $11 billion in 2011. Even before the deal closed in October 2011, HP’s board of directors had appointed Meg Whitman as president and CEO to replace Leo Apotheker, who had overseen the deal. Just over a year later on Nov. 20, 2012, HP included an impairment charge of $8.8 billion in its fourth quarter financial results for its 2012 fiscal year.
The settled lawsuit is securities litigation C-12-5980, which is pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The settlement is subject to court approval and hearing is scheduled for July 25.
"While HP believes the action has no merit, it is desirable and beneficial to HP and its shareholders to resolve and settle the case as further litigation would be burdensome and protracted," the company says in the statement.
Questions or comments on this story? Contact peter.clarke@ihs.com
Related links:
IHS Data Centers, Cloud & IT Infrastructure
News articles:
