PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP agreed Friday to pay $65 million to settle litigation over MF Global Holdings Ltd. which claimed PwC failed to properly audit the brokerage firm's internal controls before it collapsed into bankruptcy in 2011.

MF Global shareholders had sued the Big Four accounting firm in 2012, contending that PwC's audits gave MF Global a clean bill of health even though the accounting firm knew or should have known that the firm's financial statements were erroneous and its internal controls weren't effective.

In a statement, PwC said it is "pleased to resolve this matter and avoid the cost and distraction of prolonged securities litigation." The firm "stands behind its audit work and its opinions on MF Global's financial statements," PwC said.

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