advertisement

Caterpillar obligations cut by $135 million in era settlement

Caterpillar Inc., the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment, had its obligations cut by $135 million as part of a settlement reached relating to its purchase of ERA Mining Machinery Ltd.

The company resolved all outstanding issues with Mining Machinery Ltd. arising from the purchase of ERA, Peoria, -based Caterpillar said in a statement. Caterpillar’s outstanding obligations to the MML parties were cut to $29.5 million, from $164.5 million, as part of the resolution, it said.

Caterpillar said Jan. 18 it would take a $580 million writedown after discovering accounting “misconduct” at a Chinese unit acquired last year. The company bought ERA for HK$6.15 billion ($792 million) and the discrepancy was uncovered at ERA’s Zhengzhou Siwei Mechanical & Electrical Manufacturing Co. unit, which manufactures coal-mining equipment.

The settlement agreement was reached with former ERA directors Emory Williams and John Lee, Mining Machinery and James Thompson III, Caterpillar said.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.