By Mike Boyer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Shares of Batesville, Ind.-based Hillenbrand Industries Inc. jumped 11 percent Thursday, the first day of trading after the company announced a $250 million settlement of its antitrust lawsuit.

Hillenbrand's shares closed Thursday at $53.57, up $5.26 on trading volume five times heavier than normal.

The company, whose Hill-Rom hospital bed unit was the focus of the antitrust case, said the federal District Court in San Antonio confirmed the settlement with rival Kinetic Concepts Inc. and dismissed the case with prejudice.

Under the settlement, Hillenbrand paid Kinetic $175 million and will pay an additional $75 million in a year. Neither side admitted any liability or fault.

The settlement came three months after a Texas jury awarded Kinetic $173.6 million, an amount that would have been trebled if the verdict were upheld, after concluding Hill-Rom had engaged in anti-competitive practices.

"Though we continue to strongly believe our actions have been both legal and ethical, it is in the best interests of our shareholders to put this matter behind us," said Frederick Rockwood, Hillenbrand's president and chief executive.

Kinetic Concepts charged that beginning in the early 1990s, Hillenbrand used its dominance in the regular hospital bed market to increase sales of its specialty hospital beds.

E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com