** Shares of sterilization and lab testing firm Sotera
Health SHC.O up 51% at $13.06 premarket
** Expected to open at a near four-month high
** Co said it has reached a settlement in the more than 870
ethylene oxide (EO) cases pending against its unit Sterigenics
in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, and US District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois
** As per terms, Sterigenics will pay $408 mln to settle
claims, SHC will record a related charge in year ended 2022
** Sterigenics and SHC deny any liability and say the
settlements are not to be construed as an admission of any
liability or that emissions from its Willowbrook facilities ever
posed any safety hazard to the surrounding communities
** Sterigenics will fund an escrow account to pay settlement
by May 1
** SHC will pursue incremental debt financing in H1 2023 to
fund a significant portion of the settlement payment
(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru)
((Shashwat.Chauhan@thomsonreuters.com;))