Legal victory for GWO

Article Excerpt

GREAT-WEST LIFECO $30.32 (Toronto symbol GWO; Shares outstanding: 999.3 million; Market cap: $30.5 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Yield: 4.1%; www.greatwestlifeco.com) acquired the London Life insurance company in 1997. In response, former London Life policyholders launched a class-action lawsuit accusing Great- West of using $220 million of London Life’s surplus funds, which they felt belonged to them, to finance the deal. In 2010, a court ordered Great-West to pay $455.7 million in damages. The company appealed the ruling, and last year a higher court cut the award to $284.6 million. The Ontario Court of Appeals has now cut the damages to $51.6 million. Either side could take the case to the Supreme Court of Canada, but the new judgment is small next to the $717 million Great-West earned in its latest quarter. Great-West Lifeco is a buy. buy…