NEW YORK, March 27 (Reuters) - Star bond fund manager Bill Gross has reached a roughly $81 million settlement of his lawsuit accusing his former employer Pacific Investment Management Co of forcing him to resign so that his bonus could be divided among others.
Terms of the accord were not disclosed by Gross or Pimco, but were confirmed by two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because of confidentiality concerns. Proceeds are going to charity, Gross and Pimco said in a joint statement.
The settlement quietly ends what had been an acrimonious battle played out through the press, and then in Gross' $200 million lawsuit filed in October 2015 against Pimco, a unit of German insurer Allianz SE.
Gross had departed Pimco, his home for more than four decades, in September 2014, following negative news reports about his leadership and weak returns at its flagship Pimco Total Return fund, which he managed.
Pimco had countered that Gross' "egregious misconduct" and increasingly erratic behavior would have given it "good cause" to terminate his employment had he not resigned.
Gross now runs the Janus Global Unconstrained Bond fund for Janus Capital Group Inc.
He had sued Pimco in a California state court. A request that the lawsuit be dismissed was filed on Monday. (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan, Sam Forgione and Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Phil Berlowtiz)
