American financial services companies Goldman Sachs and Bain Capital have agreed to shell out a total of $121m to settle seven-year long lawsuit accusing them of colluding to suppress competition for takeover deals.
Under the proposed settlement, Goldman will pay $67m and Bain Capital will pay $54m for their roles in the collusion case ahead of a trial scheduled on 3 November.
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Bain Capital spokesperson Ernesto Anguilla has denied any wrongdoing in the settlement of the case.
"The court never cited any evidence — no document, no witness, no meeting — tying our firm to any of the alleged claims. We continue to believe the case is meritless and baseless, but ultimately determined that it was best for our investors and our firm to put this matter behind us in light of the costs and distraction of six years of litigation," Anguilla added.
Goldman Sachs, in a statement, said the company was pleased to put the matter behind it.
Blackstone Group, Carlyle Group, KKR & Co, Silver Lake Partners and TPG are the other companies that have been included in the suit by shareholders of the acquired companies for allegedly suppressing prices leading to a loss of billions of dollars to the investors.
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By GlobalDataThe lawsuit cites the acquisition deals for Clear Channel Communications, TXU, now known as Energy Future Holdings Corp and HCA Holdings.
It was alleged that the private equity companies have premeditated to stay away from each other’s deals, thereby keeping the buyout price from increasing.
