Company floats $ 10B plan for lawsuits

Purdue Pharma would hand most assets over to trusts to settle suits.

Purdue Pharma has floated a settlement plan calling for members of the billionaire Sackler family to pay more than $ 4.2 billion to help resolve the thousands of lawsuits that drove the maker of Oxycontin opioid painkillers into bankruptcy.

Court papers filed late Monday by Purdue detailed a Chapter 11 reorganization plan calling for the drugmaker to hand over the company’s assets to trusts for the benefit of states, cities and counties suing to recoup billions spent dealing with the U.S. opioid crisis. Combined with the cash payment by the Sack le rs—the company’s current owners—the plan may be worth more than $ 10 billion, according to court filings.

In exchange for the company and the cash, slated to be paid out over nine years, Purdue and the Sacklers would be legally insulated from existing and future opioid lawsuits. Some states, cities and counties that sued the drugmaker oppose the proposal.

“Purdue has delivered a historic plan that can have a profoundly positive impact on public health by directing critic ally- needed resources to communities and individuals nationwide who have been affected by the opioid crisis,” said Steve Miller, Purdue’s board chairman. “The company has worked closely with a broad and diverse group of stakeholders to guarantee billions of dollars will be used exclusively for abatement purposes and not diverted elsewhere.”

The filing is a critical step toward Purdue’s emergence from bankruptcy, a process marked by

delayed until this April, and now they won’t go into effect until April 2022.

“Visa is proud of the role we have played in helping keep American businesses open during this extraordinary time,” the company said in the statement. “We believe the steps we have taken and are taking today will further support the recovery.”

While Visa and Mastercard set interchange rates t hat merchants pay each time a consumer swipes their card at checkout, banks keep most of that fee.

“Mindful that some merchants are still facing unprecedented circumstances, we are delaying our previously announced interchange adjustments,” Mastercard said in its statement. “Mastercard continues to support our merchant partners by enabling them to keep their businesses open with safe, secure and reliable payments for both in-store and online purchases .”

Around mid- 2020, Visa reduced the rates it charges supermarkets and grocers. Months later, it opted to delay plans to raise the swipe fees paid by certain U.S. merchants for in-store transactions as well.

“Managing a dynamic payment network requires constant evaluation of our rate structure and making adjustments,” Visa said.