EarthLink’s $85 Million Investor Accord Approved in Merger Case

EarthLink Holdings Corp. has received final court approval for its $85 million class settlement of investor claims over a merger with now-bankrupt Windstream Holdings Inc.

The internet service provider’s agreement with shareholders who received Windstream stock in exchange for their EarthLink stock as part of the merger is fair, adequate and reasonable, Judge James M. Moody Jr. said for the US District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Moody also approved a 32% attorneys’ fee award, amounting to about $27 million, in the nearly seven-year-old case.

• The former EarthLink investors alleged the companies misrepresented Windstream’s finances as stable in ...