U.S. units of Ireland’s Trane Technologies PLC have reached a proposed $545 million deal to help settle asbestos claims that pushed them into bankruptcy last year, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Aldrich Pump LLC and Murray Boiler LLC sought protection from creditors in June 2020 as a way to address tens of thousands of asbestos lawsuits. In papers filed Friday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Charlotte, N.C., the businesses said they had reached a proposed agreement with a representative for individuals with future asbestos claims. According to a term sheet, the asbestos trust will have an initial lump-sum cash payment of $540 million, nearly all of which — $495 million — will be for asbestos claims, with the remainder for administrative costs. The plan will be funded in part through insurance proceeds. The trust will also include a $5 million promissory note from the business. The plan’s asbestos trust provides for both current and future classes of asbestos claims. At least $125 million of cash in the asbestos trust will be available to pay current asbestos claims, including those made by individuals who came down with mesothelioma, a type of cancer that has been linked to asbestos, before the bankruptcy. The business believes there are roughly 80,000 such claims.
