Leighton coughs up $69m in compensation

Construction giant Leighton has agreed to pay $69.45 million to settle a shareholders dispute.

Construction giant Leighton has agreed to pay $69.45 million to settle a shareholders dispute but maintains it did not mislead investors.

The money will compensate thousands of investors who claim Leighton failed to disclose problems on some of its key infrastructure projects.

The company's share price plunged after it announced $1.1 billion in write-downs and $427 million full-year loss in April, 2011.

Lawyers from Maurice Blackburn, representing shareholders, filed a claim in October 2013 alleging that the company knew of the write-downs months ahead of the decision and so deceived or misled investors.

David Sloper, the director of Inabu, the lead applicant in the case, said he was relieved to see justice done.

"People lost money they invested in good faith, and I'm grateful that this class action has given me and others the opportunity to recover compensation for our losses," he said.

Leighton's new chief executive, Marcelino Fernandez Verdes said the compensation was not an admission of guilt.

"It is important to note that the settlement is not an admission of any liability or a finding of any breach of law against Leighton or any of our executives," he said.

He said it was the best solution to resolve the dispute quickly.


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Source: AAP


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