Seagate reaches $175 million settlement of shareholder claims it concealed sales to China’s Huawei
Seagate agreed to a $175 million settlement to resolve claims it concealed sales to Huawei, denying any wrongdoing.Summary
Seagate Technology has reached a $175 million settlement to resolve a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging it defrauded shareholders by concealing sales of more than $1.1 billion of hard disk drives to China's Huawei Technologies. The settlement, filed in San Francisco federal court, requires judicial approval and is led by pension funds from Arkansas, Mississippi, Germany, and Luxembourg. The plaintiffs claimed Seagate inflated its profits and share price by hiding the sale of over 7.4 million drives to Huawei. Seagate has denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to the settlement. The company has set aside $105 million for the payout, with insurers expected to cover approximately $70 million. This legal action follows a $300 million civil penalty imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce in April 2023, the largest such penalty in the agency's history. The proposed class period covers the period from September 14, 2020, to April 19, 2023. Lawyers for the shareholders plan to seek up to 25% of the settlement fund for legal fees.
(Source：Investing Us)