After seven years of litigation, the white flags are waving in a once massive antitrust class action accusing top private equity firms of scheming to drive down the value of leveraged buyout deals. Holdout defendant Carlyle Group LP and its lawyers at Latham & Watkins inked a $115 million deal to exit the case on Friday, two months before a jury was scheduled to hear the plaintiffs’ claims.
The proposed settlement with Carlyle follows similar deals with Bain Capital Partners LLC, Blackstone Group LP, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Silver Lake Technology Management LLC and TPG Capital LP. The combined settlements total $590.5 million.
