Huge settlement a poker in the eye for Aristocrat

POKER machine maker Aristocrat Leisure is believed to have agreed to pay between $150 million and $170 million to settle a landmark class action brought by shareholders, who argued the company six years ago failed to keep the market fully informed.The payout, which will be confidential until it is revealed to the Federal Court next month, will be the largest by an Australian company to its investors.

The settlement came after the market closed yesterday, and at the eleventh hour of the case, as Federal Court judge Margaret Stone was nearing a decision in the long-running and bitterly fought legal action.

If it is approved by Justice Stone at a hearing in about six weeks, it is believed the payout will largely be funded by Aristocrat’s insurers.

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