Merrill Lynch yesterday settled Unilever's £130 million sterling (€207.6 million) negligence suit out of court in a move that could open the floodgates to a flurry of similar cases.

The Unilever Superannuation Fund (USF) sued Merrill-owned Mercury Asset Management, claiming lax controls at Mercury allowed a fund manager to take excessive risks in managing part of the scheme, resulting in it missing out on a big rise in stock markets in 1997 and early 1998.

The settlement, under which Merrill has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to Unilever, could open up the firm and other fund managers to a slew of claims and lead to a big shake-up in Britain's fund management industry, legal experts predict.

The pension fund of British grocery chain giant J Sainsbury said yesterday it was considering a possible lawsuit against Merrill Lynch.

But Merrill Lynch spokesman Robert Corrigan said the firm was unlikely to be subjected to further legal action.

"We see no basis for any future claims," he said.