(Reuters) -U.S. vitality firm EQT agreed to pay $167.5 million to settle a category motion lawsuit filed by traders who claimed EQT overstated the advantages of its $6.7 billion merger with Rice Power in 2017, based on a federal courtroom submitting on Thursday by the plaintiffs.
Officers at EQT weren’t instantly obtainable for remark.
Plaintiffs within the case embrace the Authorities of Guam Retirement Fund, Japanese Atlantic States Carpenters Annuity Fund, Japanese Atlantic States Carpenters Pension Fund and Cambridge Retirement System.
When the deal was introduced in 2017, it was anticipated to create the most important pure fuel producer within the U.S. and was the most important deal ever for EQT because it appeared to broaden its fuel enterprise. EQT is presently the No. 2 fuel producer within the nation.
“The restoration – $167.5 million in money – is notable as it’s (by far) the biggest securities class motion restoration ever within the historical past of this District and the 14th largest within the historical past of the Third Circuit,” the plaintiffs mentioned in a submitting.
The district is the U.S. District Courtroom Western District of Pennsylvania. The Third Circuit is the U.S. Courtroom of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
The plaintiffs mentioned within the submitting that they reached the settlement after nearly six years of litigation and three mediation periods.
“The Settlement offers a positive end result for Class Members as a result of it permits for an instantaneous restoration and removes the appreciable risk that Class Members might get better considerably much less and even nothing,” based on the submitting.
The case is In Re EQT Company Securities Litigation filed in June 2019, based on the federal courtroom web site.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavinoEditing by Marguerita Choy)