J&J reportedly seeking additional support for talc bankruptcy plan

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) has extended a timeline to get more votes for its previously announced ~$6.5B bankruptcy deal to settle thousands of lawsuits alleging ovarian cancer risk linked to its talc-based baby powder and other products, Reuters reported.

Citing a statement attributed to JNJ’s in-house litigation chief, Erik Haas, the news agency reported that the company is negotiating with plaintiffs’ lawyers, who have resisted the offer to eliminate opponents to the deal.

Previously, Bloomberg reported that the proposed settlement had won the support of 75% of claimants, the threshold required for J&J (JNJ) to proceed with the offer, which comes with a plan to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a specially created JNJ subsidiary.

While noting that the offer has majority support, JNJ said it had paused the vote count to gather additional votes from claimants who had, until recently, opposed the move.

“We have agreed to a short extension of the certification timeline,” Haas said. “This will allow these plaintiffs’ attorneys time to speak to their claimants to now consider supporting the plan.”