The settlement, approved on Nov. 11, 2026, closes a legal challenge that had been pending since 2022, when shareholders sued over the terms of the buyout led by the company's founder. The lawsuit alleged that the transaction undervalued the company and disadvantaged minority shareholders.

Continental Resources, an oil and gas producer headquartered in Oklahoma City, was founded by Hamm and had been publicly traded for years before the 2022 deal. The buyout took the company private, concentrating ownership in Hamm's hands and those of his family.

The class action, filed in Oklahoma County District Court, sought to represent shareholders who argued the process was flawed and the price paid was inadequate. The case dragged on for four years before the settlement was reached and approved.

The $60 million settlement is one of the larger shareholder class action resolutions in Oklahoma in recent years. It provides compensation to eligible shareholders who held stock at the time of the buyout, though the exact distribution process and per-share recovery were not immediately detailed in court records.

For Oklahoma's business community, the case highlights ongoing scrutiny of transactions that take public companies private, particularly when company founders are on both sides of the deal. Shareholder advocates have long argued that such deals require robust independent oversight to ensure minority investors are treated fairly.

The settlement approval brings to a close a lengthy legal chapter for Continental Resources, which remains one of the state's most prominent energy companies. Hamm, a billionaire oilman and prominent political donor, has been a central figure in Oklahoma's energy industry for decades.

Attorneys for the shareholders and representatives for Continental Resources did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the settlement approval.