Sky agrees EDS settlement

BSkyB will be paid £318m (€385m) in a final settlement with EDS following a legal wrangle relating to a contract signed with the IT outsourcing firm 10 years ago to build a new customer relationship management system.

Sky had been seeking £709m in compensation after a court ruled that EDS made false representations relating to the contract.

The UK pay-TV operator appointed EDS, now a division of Hewlett Packard, to design, build and implement a customer service system at its customer contact centres in Livingston and Dunfermline, Scotland. Sky terminated the relationship in 2002 following claims that EDS failed to perform contractual obligations. It subsequently completed the project in-house. Sky took legal action against EDS in 2004, claiming that it had been misled about the project’s budget and time frame. In January, a court ruled in favour of Sky and EDS has now agreed to pay £318m in damages, costs and interest, including an interim payment of £270m made in February.