In a surprise announcement this morning ASOS PLC (LON:ASC) said it will pay £20.2mln to settle a trademark dispute with two European retailers.
The online retail giant reached a settlement over a trademark infringement case with Swiss cycle wear manufacturer Assos and German retailer Anson’s.
ASOS said the settlement will "secure a comprehensive co-existence for all parties".
The disputes resulted in several cases being heard in court, as well as a number of global trademark registry actions.
"We are pleased to have put this litigation behind us. Entering into this settlement at this juncture is the right commercial decision for our business,” said chief executive Nick Beighton.
The payment will be reported as an exceptional item at the year end.
Commenting on the announcement, Langton Capital's Mark Brumby said: "When we saw the headline of the surprise announcement this morning that “ASOS settles trade mark disputes”, we thought this was something that had gone in ASOS’s favour, but it is actually the other way round and the settlement cost is not insubstantial."
Brumby said he was "in the dark" over the dispute, noting that he had heard nothing until the announcement today.
He was not alone, a confernence call with analysts this morning implied no one else really knew about it either.
Earlier this week, Asos was deemed to be the UK company least likely to see any adverse effects by Brexit, according to the Royal Bank of Canada, as it was "well positioned" to benefit from the drop in the pound.
Shares dipped as low as 4,535p in early trading, before bouncing back to 4,596p.