Hewlett-Packard agreed in principle on Monday to <A HREF="http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/15/HP-agrees-to-settle-backdating-suit_1.html?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/15/HP-agrees-to-settle-backdating-suit_1.html">resolve the stock-options backdating suit</A> facing Mercury Interactive, a company it acquired in 2006, for $117.5 million.

The settlement is pending and needs to be approved by the judge presiding over the case at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, HP said in a statement. The case was filed by the Mercury Pension Fund Group, a group of pension funds that hold Mercury stock, which alleged former Mercury Interactive executives improperly backdated stock options.

The settlement was six times higher than any previous backdating settlement, according to a statement from Labaton Sucharow LLP, the law firm representing Mercury Pension Fund Group.