Baxter International Inc., the Illinois-based medical supply company assessed a record fine last month by the U.S. government for compliance with the Arab boycott of Israel, has agreed to invest $10 million in the Jewish state.
Under terms of a combined settlement of three shareholder suits brought against Baxter in the past two years, the company will, within five years, invest the money in research and development projects in Israel, Baxter spokesman Geoffrey Fenton said last Friday.
The shareholder lawsuits were spurred by the government’s investigation of the firm, which began in 1990. The terms of the settlement are subject to approval by shareholders and the Delaware Chancery Court.
Seventy-five percent of the profits from the investment will be reinvested in similar projects in Israel over a period of 15 years.
“We are delighted,” said Will Maslow, editor of the American Jewish Congress publication Boycott Report.
Baxter, two of its subsidiaries and a top Baxter executive agreed to pay a total of $6,060,600 in civil penalties, and another $500,000 in criminal penalties last month.
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