Eaton to Pay Meritor $500 Million to Settle Antitrust Suit
Component makers Meritor Inc. and Eaton Corp. announced June 23 that Eaton will pay $500 million to a Meritor joint-venture unit to resolve a 2006 antitrust lawsuit.
Eaton will pay the money to ZF Meritor, a joint venture between a Meritor subsidiary and ZF Friedrichshafen AG. Meritor Inc. will receive about $209 million.
The settlement is subject to ZF Friedrichshafen’s approval, which is expected in early July, Meritor said in a statement, adding that it expects to receive proceeds in mid-July.
As part of the agreement, ZF Meritor and Meritor Transmission Corp. agreed to dismiss all pending antitrust litigation with Eaton.
Meritor, formerly known as ArvinMeritor Inc., won a 2009 ruling in its antitrust case against Eaton when a federal court jury found Eaton had made deals with truck makers that shut ArvinMeritor out of the heavy-transmission market.
Meritor Transmission Corp. said at the time that damages exceeded $800 million.
“It is in the best interests of Eaton shareholders to settle this matter,” Eaton Chairman and CEO Alexander Cutler said in a separate statement. “The settlement results in a permanent resolution of the matter and removes the uncertainty of a trial and a lengthy appeal process.”
