Auditors settle with Parmalat investors

The auditors sued by US investors in Parmalat, the Italian dairy giant that collapsed in 2003, have settled the claim with payments totalling $15m.

According to Reuters documents filed in the Manhattan federal court show Grant Thornton has agreed to pay $6.5m while Deloitte will pay $8.5m.

A lawyer representing investors, James Sabella of Grant & Eisenhoffer, is reported by Reuters saying that such a settlement from the big accountancy networks is a rare event.

Among the claimants were Hermes Focus Asset Management Europe, Cattolica Partecipazioni, Capital & Finance Asset Management, Societe Moderne des Terrassements Parisiens and Solotrat, Retuers says.

Deloitte agreed to pay Parmalat $150m in 2007.

Parmalat field for bankruptcy in 2003 while the business was struggling with around $14bn of debts and after a €4bn hole had been uncovered in on the balance sheet.