SBC to Pay Employees $10-Million Settlement
- Share via
SBC Communications Inc. agreed to pay $10 million to settle a suit brought by employees who said the company lost $635 million in their retirement funds by selling shares in a wireless carrier before it was acquired by Vodafone Group.
The suit, filed in April 2000, claimed that the local phone company should have known a bidding war would start over AirTouch Communications Inc. after the company sold its employees’ 401(k) shares in AirTouch in 1998, when shares were $52.25. About a year later, AirTouch shares reached $107.66 when Vodafone acquired the wireless carrier.
The settlement allows SBC employees whose 401(k) funds were invested in AirTouch as of Dec. 31, 1997, to collect about 60 cents a share in compensation, according to the proposed settlement filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
San Antonio-based SBC, which said it didn’t profit from the stock conversion, has argued that it gave its employees months of notice and five investment choices for converting AirTouch stock.
Inside the business of entertainment
The Wide Shot brings you news, analysis and insights on everything from streaming wars to production — and what it all means for the future.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
