RB: to pay 1.4 billion dollars to settle US investigation

(CercleFinance.com) - Reckitt Benckiser has agreed to pay 1.
4 billion dollars to U.S. authorities to settle a long-running investigation into a treatment of opioid dependence that was sold by its former prescription pharmaceuticals unit, the company said on Thursday.

RB today announced it has reached agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to resolve the investigation into the sales and marketing of Suboxone Film by Indivior, a former business that was wholly demerged in 2014.

The agreement is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as it avoids the costs, uncertainty and distraction associated with continued investigations, RB said.

The settlement amount will be funded through existing borrowing facilities and cash generation.

RB said it has a provision of 400 million dollars and will increase its provision to 1.5 billion dollars at its half-year results.

The market's reaction was broadly positive, as RB shares jumped 2.5% on the news in London.

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