W.R. Grace & Co. said yesterday that it has reached a deal that could be worth more than $3 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits by people who say they were sickened by exposure to the company's asbestos products.
The deal potentially clears a path for the Columbia-based chemical maker to emerge by year's end from one of the most complex bankruptcy reorganizations in U.S. history.
The accord, which would depend on approval by a bankruptcy judge in Pittsburgh, would establish a trust fund to pay current and future asbestos claims, which date back decades to when the company produced and sold products containing the substance.
