Reuters: Technology News: Google settles class action lawsuit over new Class C stock

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Google settles class action lawsuit over new Class C stock Jun 17th 2013, 15:20 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Coty fails to charm investors in market debut Thu, Jun 13 2013 SEC says Revlon misled shareholders in a Perelman deal Thu, Jun 13 2013 Ally to pay $2.1 billion to settle claims tied to ResCap Thu, May 23 2013 Analysis & Opinion Review: Hollywood blinds itself to Google's faults Surfboards lean against a wall at the Google office in Santa Monica, California, October 11, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Lucy Nicholson Mon Jun 17, 2013 11:20am EDT (Reuters) - Google Inc has settled a shareholder class action lawsuit that clears the way for the company to issue a new class of nonvoting stock, giving the company a currency for acquisitions that would not dilute the founders' control. The online search engine leader had planned to issue Class C shares as a dividend to investors, but a shareholder, the Brockton Retirement Board, sued, claiming the plan gave the founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, added control without paying for it. The lawsuit was scheduled to go to trial on Tuesday in a Delaware state court. The founders were expected to testify. The settlement will give holders of the new Class C stock a cash or stock payment if the value of the stock differs by more than 1 percent from the value of Class A shares, which have traded on the Nasdaq since its public listing in 2004. The settlement was disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday. "We're pleased to have reached an agreement to settle this litigation," the company said in a statement. "We've always believed our founder-led approach gives us the freedom to make long-term bets, like Android, Chrome and YouTube, that benefit consumers and shareholders alike." Google has had two classes of stock since it went public. Class A carries one vote each, while Brin and Page control Google through their holdings of Class B shares, which carry 10 votes each. The new Class C shares will allow Brin and Page to sell more stock without surrendering control of the company. Google shares rose 1.5 percent to $888.46 alongside a broadly higher market. (Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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