Andersen to Settle Sunbeam Shareholders’ Suit

Accounting firm Andersen has agreed to pay $110 million to Sunbeam Corp. shareholders to settle a fraud lawsuit concerning its work for the struggling appliance maker. The settlement is the second-largest ever paid by an accounting firm in a securities lawsuit, said Robert Kornreich, an attorney for shareholders. Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sunbeam, maker of Sunbeam, Oster and other appliances, has battled shareholder lawsuits and has been investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission for its accounting practices. Sunbeam’s stock became virtually worthless after the company was forced to restate its profit and losses for the six quarters before former Chairman Al Dunlap was fired in 1998. Andersen, formerly called Arthur Andersen, denied any wrongdoing but said it decided to settle for business reasons. The settlement covers at least 10,000 shareholders who bought options in 1997 and 1998.