Bank of America says it will pay $2.43 billion to settle a class-action lawsuit related to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.

   The lawsuit from 2009 was on behalf of investors that bought or held Bank of America stock when the company announced its plans to buy Merrill Lynch. Among the plaintiffs allegations was that Bank of America and some of its officers made false or misleading statements about both companies' financial health.

   Bank of America denies the allegations and says it agreed to the settlement to get rid of the uncertainties, burden and costs related to the lawsuit. It has also agreed to adopt create several corporate governance policies.

   Shares of Bank of America Corp. fell 5 cents to $8.92 in premarket trading Friday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.