IBM To Pay $20 Million To Settle Lawsuit, Law Firms Say

[OhioChick]

Source: Reuters

IBM will pay $20 million to settle an investor lawsuit contending the company misrepresented its stock option expensing, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Monday.

By Reuters
InformationWeek
June 2, 2008 03:32 PM


NEW YORK - International Business Machines (NYSE: IBM) will pay $20 million to settle an investor lawsuit contending the company misrepresented its stock option expensing, lawyers for the plaintiffs said Monday.

The settlement is subject to final approval by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, said law firms Labaton Sucharow LLP and Klafter & Olsen LLP.

In a news release, the firms said that in agreeing to the settlement, IBM "disputes that it made any misrepresentations to investors, and denies all allegations of wrongdoing."

The settlement will resolve claims brought on behalf of shareholders who bought IBM common stock duing the period April 5-14, 2005.

In the lawsuit, the investors contended that they were harmed by alleged misrepresentations and omissions in an April 5, 2005, announcement from IBM about the start of option expensing. IBM was accused of misleading investors about its expected financial results and the anticipated size of its option expense for the first quarter of 2005.



Read more: http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/legal/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=208401576