Mercury settles stock option suits

Mercury Interactive, one of the first companies to reveal that its financial records were faulty because of stock option tampering, has agreed to pay $117.5 million to settle a group of lawsuits accusing the business software maker of duping investors, the company and shareholder lawyers said Monday.

The settlement in U.S. District Court in San Jose is Mercury’s latest effort to atone for its executives’ mishandling of option awards dating back to the 1990s and to smooth the company’s integration into Hewlett-Packard Co. as part of a $4.9-billion acquisition completed last year.

HP confirmed the settlement but declined to comment further. The Palo Alto-based company, which inherited a federal securities probe when it acquired Mercury, said it no longer faced any investigations related to stock options.

Attorney Joel Bernstein, who represented the Mercury Pension Fund Group, said the parties that sued were satisfied and “confident that the award will provide fair recompense to the investors who lost money as a result of Mercury’s improper practices.”

Mercury makes software that helps companies test and analyze the performance of applications to support such functions as payroll, sales and supply chain record-keeping.

HP shares fell 31 cents Monday to close at $51.24.