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Administration May 7, 2010
Maxim Announces $173M Settlement of Backdating Suit
May 7, 2010 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Maxim Integrated Products has announced a $173 million settlement with plaintiffs in a stock option backdating class action.
Reported by Rebecca Moore
The cash payment that the semiconductor company tentatively agreed to pay makes the deal the largest backdating settlement within the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the third-largest overall, said Blair Nicholas, a partner in the San Diego office of Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann and co-lead counsel for the plaintiffs, according to The Recorder.
Edwin Medlin, vice president and senior counsel for the company, said the settlement means Maxim is “closing the door” on stock option backdating litigation against it. “When we considered the comparable cases and facts and damage claims, we feel this is a good settlement for Maxim,” Medlin said, according to the news report.
The plaintiffs, public pension funds, claimed damages between 2003 and 2008 because Maxim had improperly backdated its stock options, which inflated its stock price.
Last month, a California jury convicted the former Chief Financial Officer of Maxim Carl Jasper of securities fraud related to stock options backdating (see SEC Wins Backdating Conviction against Maxim Former CFO).