Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has announced that it has reached in principle agreement to settle the shareholder class action proceedings, which commenced against the winemaker in Victoria’s Supreme Court in 2020.
TWE said the proceeding is a consolidation of the two shareholder class actions which were notified to the market on 3 April 2020 and 1 May 2020.
The proceeding was commenced after TWE revised its earnings guidance on 28 January 2020 and includes allegations that TWE engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct and breached its continuous disclosure obligations.
The proceeding was commenced on behalf of shareholders who entered contracts to acquire interests in TWE’s fully paid ordinary shares between 30 June 2018 and 28 January 2020.
In a statement to the ASX, TWE said: “The agreed settlement amount is $65m, inclusive of interest and costs. The full settlement amount will be met by available insurance proceeds.
“The settlement is subject to the finalisation and execution of a deed of settlement. While TWE currently expects that this requirement will be satisfied, this is not certain to occur. The settlement will also be conditional upon approval by the Supreme Court of Victoria.
“In reaching this settlement, TWE makes no admission of liability. The settlement was a commercial decision made in the best interests of shareholders to enable TWE to remain focused on executing against its strategy.”