Legal action taken against Phillips & Drew Fund Managers (PDFM) by Swedish company Klippan Paper has been settled on a confidential basis.


A spokeswoman for PDFM said the case had been settled "to the satisfaction of both parties".


Klippan chairman Jan Bernander, who has a 24% stake in Inveresk, was rejected by shareholders at the groups AGM on 29 June (PrintWeek, 6 July).


PDFM had pledged to back Klippan in a letter dated 22 March. However, after the appointment of Ken Minton as chairman of Inveresk in May, a spokeswoman was quoted as saying "any pledge of support for Klippan made earlier in the year was not viewed as binding" (PrintWeek, 8 June).


Meanwhile, Inveresk group finance director Gerard Cassels has refuted claims that PDFM is pulling back from the company.


PDFM has sold around 400,000 shares, reducing its stake in Inveresk to 16.9%.


Cassels said it was a "normal transaction. PDFM manages a large number of shares on behalf of pension funds. One pension fund with a shareholding in Inveresk sold its holding."


A report in the part-Swedish-owned Scottish tabloid Business AM quoted a source close to Bernander as saying: "It would be legitimate to speculate that Phillips & Drew is beginning to pull out of this one."


But Cassels slammed the report, saying that Bernander was "a good friend of that newspaper". He added that he expected PDFM to continue to be "very supportive" of Inveresk.


Story by Fay Schopen