Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. agreed to pay $300 million to settle a securities class action lawsuit related to wholesaler inventory and accounting practices and its investment in and relationship with ImClone Systems Inc.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York, was brought against Bristol-Myers Squibb on behalf of purchasers of its securities during the period October 19, 1999 through March 10, 2003.

Shareholders had claimed Bristol-Myers Squibb made overly optimistic statements about sales and earnings growth and misstatements about the strength of its investment in ImClone.

Under the proposed settlement, the litigation will be terminated in exchange for a payment of $300 million, BMS said in a statement. As part of the settlement, the company made no admission of wrongdoing.

The proposed settlement does not resolve the pending governmental investigations and other private litigation (both ERISA and derivative litigation) related to wholesaler inventory issues and other accounting matters, BMS said.

The settlement is subject to a number of conditions, including final court approval following completion of a fairness hearing. “At this time, there can be no assurance that those conditions will be met and that the settlement will receive final court approval,” BMS said.

(via PR Newswire)