Chevron to pay $7 million in Atlas shareholder lawsuit

Chevron Corp has settled a lawsuit against its proposed $3.2 billion Atlas Energy takeover by agreeing to pay an extra 10 cents per share to non-director shareholders in the US natural gas producer.   

Excluding the approximately 4% of shares held by directors, the payment will total more than $7 million.                              

The original Chevron offer, which will be put to a vote by Atlas shareholders in Philadelphia on Feb. 16, was $38.25 per share in cash plus a distribution of units in Atlas Pipeline Holdings worth about $5.09 per share.                                            

Lawsuits on behalf of shareholders, alleging fiduciary breach of duty by Atlas directors and officers in agreeing to the Chevron deal, were combined into one case in a Delaware court. The settlement was reached on Feb 3, and reported in an Atlas regulatory filing late on Monday.

India's Reliance Industries Ltd, an Atlas joint venture partner, said last week it hired advisers to consider a potential challenge to Chevron's bid.