Loblaw to settle class action over bread price-fixing for $500 million

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.

Loblaw Cos. Ltd. and its parent company George Weston Ltd. say they have agreed to pay $500 million to settle a pair of class-action lawsuits regarding their involvement in an alleged bread price-fixing scheme.

"We are pleased to be able to put this issue behind us at both Loblaw and George Weston," said Loblaw chief financial officer Richard Dufresne on an earnings call Thursday.

The class-action cases were brought against a group of companies that includes Loblaw and the Weston companies, Metro, Walmart Canada, Giant Tiger, Sobeys and bakery supplier Canada Bread Co.

They alleged the defendants conspired to fix the price of packaged bread in Canada, and were filed on behalf of all residents of Canada who purchased packaged bread after Nov. 1, 2001.

In a press release, George Weston said it would pay $247.5 million in cash, while Loblaw would pay $252.5 million, made up of $156.5 million in cash and credit for $96 million previously paid to customers by Loblaw under the Loblaw Card program.

Loblaw chairman Galen Weston, who is also chairman and chief executive of George Weston, said "this behaviour should never have happened."

"On behalf of the Weston group of companies, we are sorry for the price-fixing behaviour we discovered and self-reported in 2015," he said in a statement.