EUROPE - European institutional investors led by the two largest Dutch pension funds have won a landmark securities claim from Shell relating to the oil giant's 2004 reserves misreporting scandal.

In what is said to be the first class-wide settlement of a securities claim by European institutional investors, Royal Dutch Shell has promised to pay shareholders $352.6m (€263m) in compensation.

In 2006, the Dutch pension funds ABP and PGGM opted out of a US class action against Shell over losses suffered over the reserves issue.

More than 40 other pension funds, including 24 Dutch funds, asset managers and other institutional investors followed (see list below) and together they filed their own lawsuit.

The participating investors - which hold more than 1bn Shell shares - will receive 10% to 13% of their estimated damages, ABP explained in a press release. It stated that the "settlement amount offered by Shell is reasonable".

Similarly, PGGM told IPE that it was content with the settlement.

"We believe hat the advantages of the settlement outweigh the risks that are involved with a continuing and lengthy litigation against Shell in the US," Rene Maatman, chief legal counsel of ABP said in a statement. He said that this settlement "provides a European alternative to the US class action".

"By coming together in such a large fashion across multiple countries, and petitioning the Amsterdam Court of Appeals to work directly with Shell to settle their claims, this group of trans-European investors has struck a uniquely European resolution to settling a European securities claim - it truly has never been done before," said Jay Eisenhofer, of US law firm Grant & Eisenhofer, which represented the investor group.

An additional point in the settlement is the promise that Shell will pay the European investors the upside difference should a settlement in the US class action result in a larger distribution than the amounts received through the pan-European settlement at a later date.

In January 2004 Shell had told investors that around 20% of the oil and gas reserves were not - as previously stated - certain but only "likely".
List of List of European Investors Participating in Class-Wide Settlement with Shell
- Denmark: Pensionskassernes Administration

- Germany: ampegaGerling, Deka Investment, Frankfurter Service Kapitalanlage-Gesellschaft, Frankfurt-Trust Invest Luxemburg AG, INKA HSBC Trinkaus Burkhardt, Metzler Investment

- UK: Railpen, USS, AXA Investment Managers, F&C, Morley, the Co-Operative Insurance Society

- Ireland: Deka International (Ireland) Limited

- Luxembourg:  Deka International S.A. (Luxembourg)

-  Norway:  Norges Bank Investment Management

-  Switzerland:  Pictet & Cie, UBS

- Sweden: AMF Pension, Sjunde AP-Fonden (AP7), Alecta, Swedbank Robur, AFA

- Netherlands: ABP, PGGM, Pensioenfonds Holland Casino,  Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor het Horecabedrijf, Bedrijfspensioenfonds voor de Landbouw, Pensioenfonds Wonen, pensioenfonds voor de Tandtechniek, Uittreding werknemers Agrarische sectoren, Pensioenfonds voor fysiotherapeuten, Bedrijfspensioenfonds voor de Schoenmakerij, Pensioenfonds Dutch Space, Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor het Melk- en Zuiveldetailhandelsbedrijf, Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor het levensmiddelenbedrijf, bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor het Schoonmaak- en Glazenwassersbedrijf, Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor de Detailhandel, Stichting De Samenwerking, pensioenfonds voor het Slagersbedrijf, Interpolis Pensioenen Nederland Pool, Interpolis Pensioenen Europa Pool, Stichting Pensioenfonds Interpolis, Pensioenfonds Metaal En Techniek, Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds voor de Metalektro, Robeco Group, Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Zorgverzekeraars, Pensioenfonds Openbaar Vervoer, Stichting Spoorwegpensioenfonds

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