By Balaji Sridharan and Sakthi Prasad
Feb 20 (Reuters) - Sherwin-Williams Co has reached a
settlement deal with the U.S. Department of Labor related to the
U.S. paint maker's employee stock ownership plan by making a
one-time payment of $80 million to the plan, the firm said on
Wednesday.
The company - which markets paints including Dutch Boy,
Krylon, Minwax and Water Seal as well as its namesake brand -
said the payment will result in an after-tax charge to earnings
of $49.2 million, or 47 cents per share, in its fourth quarter,
ended Dec. 31, 2012.
"The settlement will result in payments totaling $80 million
to current and former participants in the plan as well as to
their beneficiaries," the Department of Labor said in a
statement issued to Reuters.
The settlement also requires Illinois-based trustee
GreatBanc Trust Company to undergo an audit of its pension plan
activities, the Labor Department said.
In January, the company posted a fourth-quarter profit of
$1.12 per share on revenue of $2.22 billion.
Sherwin-Williams said the agreement will not have an effect
on its full-year 2013 earnings forecast issued on Jan. 31, 2013.
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