Oracle boss Larry Ellison has backed down in a conflict of interest court case over the 2011 acquisition by Oracle of a company he controlled. Ellison has agreed to give up a potential payout of around $500 million to end the case.

The settlement relates to Oracle's purchase of Pillar Data, a data storage company that was majority owned by Ellison. Oracle paid nothing to buy Pillar, instead agreeing to make future payments that would depend on the acquired company's performance through 2014.

Ellison would have received the first $562 million of any payment related to the acquisition. According to the settlement, whatever the payment ultimately is, Ellison must pay 95 percent of it to Oracle. The City of Roseville Employees’ Retirement System and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority launched the suit. They said the deal to buy Pillar was "tainted by conflicts of interest and was unfair to Oracle."