The shareholders’ case concerned Google’s search business as well as others
While the higher-profile DOJ antitrust lawsuit against Google continues, the company has reached a provisional settlement over similar accusations from its shareholders.
The Department of Justice continues to want Google to be broken up, and that case may be ruled on by August. But separately, shareholders led by two pension funds, took Google to court over antitrust violations, and according to Reuters, that case may now have been settled.
Google and the shareholders have reported agreed a settlement that will see the company commit half a billion dollars into overhauling its compliance structure. That investment is said to be spent over the next 10 years, though the settlement mandates that such compliance changes must stay in place for at least 4 years.
“These reforms, rarely achieved in shareholder derivative actions, constitute a comprehensive overhaul of Alphabet’s compliance function,” said lawyers representing the shareholders. They added that this had resulted in a “deeply rooted culture change” for Google.
Such a case brought by shareholders against the company is called derivative litigation. In this case it was specifically directed against officials at Google’s parent company Alphabet, including current CEO Sundar Pichai.
The suit alleged that Google officers failed in their duties to shareholders by exposing the company to antitrust liability. This liability related to its search, Android, and app distribution businesses, as well as its advertising technology.
Google continues to deny any wrongdoing. The proposed settlement was filed late on Friday, May 30, 2025, and must now be approved by US District Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco.
Lawyers for the shareholders reportedly plan to seek up to $80 million, on top of the $500 million settlement, for fees and expenses.
Neither the shareholders’ lawyers nor Google have commented publicly.
