Apple Settles Stock-Option Backdating Lawsuit For $14M

New York, NY (AHN) - Shares of Apple Inc. declined on Thursday after the company's executives decided to settle some stock-option backdating lawsuits for $14 million.

The company's liability insurer will pay the total amount, which would include federal suits' attorney fees of $7.3 million, $300,000 to plaintiffs' expenses and in state cases' attorney fees of $1.2 million and $50,000 in plaintiffs' expenses.

The settlement was reached between many of the company's current as well as former executives and directors, including CEO Steve Jobs, CFO Peter Oppenheimer and former CFO Fred Anderson.

The decision of settlement had gotten preliminary approval from the U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel in San Jose, CA, in the lawsuit filed by the shareholders on behalf of Apple.

The shareholders had claimed that the firm suffered due to the manipulation of 15 different stock-option grants made between 1997 and 2002.

The reports said backdating of stock-options was a common practice within the high-tech firms, which helped them to bolster their pay and retain employees

Once the case is finalized, the executives will repay $14 million within 30 days of the judgment.

Shares of the firm were trading down by $1.93 or 1.3 percent at $149.68 in composite trading on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday at 1.02 p.m. EDT

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