Apple will pay almost half a billion dollars to investors over sales in China

The tech giant, Apple, has agreed to pay investors almost half a billion dollars, resulting in the end of a legal battle that's lasted for almost five years. 

The $490 million settlement was filed in a court in California. It will go to investors who purchased shares between Nov. 2018 and Jan. 2019, according to The Washington Examiner.

The Norfolk Pension Fund, a U.K. based group that led the lawsuit, said that they were proud of this victory for their investors. 

“We are mindful that we are stewards of pensions relied upon by thousands of families and individuals. When and where it’s warranted, we will take decisive action to recover losses when our participants’ investments are harmed by fraud," they said in a statement to the Telegraph. 

The investors in the lawsuit claimed that Apple CEO Tim Cook did not warn them about the downturn in China sales, as China is a huge market. This led to a strain on the trade relations between the U.S. and China. Because of that strain, according to The Examiner, the company had to lower its quarterly revenue forecast by up to $9 billion. 

In the settlement, Apple did not admit liability for the drop in revenue.