Coke to settle fraud lawsuit

Coca-Cola Co. agreed to settle a fraud lawsuit in which investors said they lost $1.75 billion after the soft-drink maker withheld information to boost its stock price.

The $137.5-million settlement, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, ends an eight-year battle.

“We maintain these allegations are without merit and no admittance of wrongdoing is a part of this settlement,” Coca-Cola said.

Investors claimed that Japanese bottlers were forced to take excess syrup to boost sales, a practice called channel stuffing. The method helped Coca-Cola overstate income and artificially inflate its share price, according to the complaint, filed by a union pension fund.