BHP, Vale offered $1.4B to settle Brazil dam lawsuit, FT reports

Vale (VALE) and BHP Group (BHP), at a meeting in New York in June, put forth an offer of about $1.4B to settle a class action lawsuit brought in the UK by victims of one of Brazil’s worst environmental disasters, the Mariana dam accident, people familiar with the matter told Financial Times’ Suzi Ring and Michael Pooler. The offer included about $800M in compensation for victims as well as $600M for legal fees, the sources said. Pogust Goodhead, the British law firm representing the claimants, was holding out for a higher sum of about $3B, the sources added.