By HARRY R. WEBER, AP Business Writer
ATLANTA - The Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest beverage maker, has agreed to pay $137.5 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit that claimed company officials misrepresented or omitted information in public statements, causing the company's stock price to be inflated.
The Atlanta-based company did not admit any wrongdoing in settling the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, according to the agreement dated June 26 and entered July 3.
The court has preliminarily approved the settlement and scheduled a settlement fairness hearing for Oct. 20.
The lead plaintiffs in the suit were the Carpenters Health & Welfare Fund of Philadelphia & Vicinity and Local 144 Nursing Home Pension Fund, now called 1199 SEIU Greater New York Pension Fund.
The class represented by the plaintiffs included all persons who bought Coca-Cola stock between Oct. 21, 1999 and March 6, 2000.
The complaint by the institutional investors alleged that certain material facts concerning Coca-Cola and the condition of its business and financial results were misrepresented and omitted from various public statements purportedly made by the defendants, causing the price of Coke stock to be inflated artificially.
Over the last several years, there had been rounds of mediation and settlement discussions, court records show.
The agreement says that Coca-Cola and the other defendants, who include several former top executives of the company, continue to deny all substantive allegations of wrongdoing. The defendants believe they would ultimately prevail, but have considered the risk and expense of going forward and, therefore, decided to settle, court records show.
