The Redmond, software maker tentatively has agreed to a five-year project to provide software and computers to more than 14,000 of the poorest schools in the U.S., resolving most of its pending private class-action lawsuits, lawyers and academics briefed on the case said. Many details of the complex agreement still were being worked out Monday night, but the estimated cost to Microsoft will be about $1.1 billion, with additional support coming from other contributions, these people said. Microsoft has $36 billion in cash on hand.
The unusual settlement is intended to answer claims that Microsoft abused its market power by overcharging millions of computer buyers across the country. The agreement, hammered out over the weekend in Redmond, must be approved by U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz in Baltimore, who is overseeing the class-action suits.
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