NEW YORK: Apple has reached an out-of-court settlement to pay $490 million to shareholders who accused the iPhone titan of making misleading statements about its business in China in 2018.

Shareholders criticized Apple executives, in particular CEO Tim Cook, for stating in November 2018 that the company’s business remained buoyant in China, even though it was slowing down.

The settlement, which was filed on Friday nearly five years after the case began, needs to be approved by a federal judge in Oakland.