As part of its agreement to settle class action shareowner and related litigation that began in 2000, Lucent Technologies distributed 200 million warrants to purchase an equal number of shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.75. The company also said that it will pay the remaining $215 million to the settlement fund in January 2005, and this obligation can be settled in either cash or stock at the company's option. Lucent currently expects to use cash for the remaining settlement, but a final decision will not be made until January. The company had already deposited $100 million of stock into an escrow account for the settlement fund in December 2003.
The agreement, which was announced on March 27, 2003, and approved by the court on December 12, 2003, was a global settlement of what were 54 separate lawsuits, including the consolidated shareowner securities class action lawsuits in the U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., and related ERISA, bondholder, derivative and state securities cases. The lawsuits alleged that the company violated federal securities laws and related state laws. The company denied any wrongdoing as part of the agreement. http://www.lucentsecuritieslitigation.com/
- In March 2003, Lucent announced a global settlement of what were 54 separate lawsuits, including consolidated shareowner securities class action lawsuits and related ERISA, bondholder, derivative and state securities cases. The lawsuits alleged that the company violated federal securities laws and related state laws. The company denied any wrongdoing as part of the agreement.
