IRVINE, Calif. (AP) -- Chip maker Broadcom Corp. said the remaining defendants in a class-action lawsuit that investors brought against current and former company directors and officers have reached a settlement.
The settlement would end litigation stemming from shareholder derivative actions filed in 2006 related to the illegal backdating of stock options. Those cases were later consolidated.
Some of the defendants and Broadcom settled some investor claims in August 2009 for $118 million, which was paid by the company's insurers. The new settlement, which still needs approval by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, would resolve the claims against the remaining defendants.
Under the settlement, Henry T. Nicholas, Broadcom's former president and chief executive officer and former co-chairman, will pay the company $26.6 million, and William J. Ruehle, Broadcom's former chief financial officer, will dismiss a lawsuit he filed against the company seeking damages of more than $26 million. In addition, Broadcom will cancel unexercised stop options held by Henry Samueli, Broadcom's chief technical officer and a nominee to the company's board. Samueli will also contribute $2.3 million in cash to the Broadcom Foundation.
A separate $160 million settlement the company reached in December over illegal stock option backdating was the second-largest up-front cash recovery from a company accused of such activity, authorities said. Broadcom did not admit wrongdoing.