ABP and PGGM, the large Dutch pension funds, have reached an out-of-court settlement with Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell in a suit over its 2004 oil reserves restatement scandal. The deal comes just a day before BP faces a potential showdown with its shareholders over pay.

The Shell settlement represents the first successful securities class action claim by European investors, according to Grant & Eisenhofer, the law firm acting for the complainants, since there is no standard legal mechanism for such claims in Europe.