Google has settled a shareholder lawsuit to clear the way for a long-delayed split of the Internet search leader's stock.

The agreement announced Monday resolves allegations that Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin engineered the stock split in a way that unfairly benefits them and shortchanges the rest of the company's shareholders.

The split calls for a new class of stock with no voting power to be issued for each share of an existing category of voting stock. The structure is designed to ensure that Page and Brin retain control over the company.

The settlement will require Google Inc. to compensate owners of the new class of if stock if it's worth less than the existing class of stock after one year of trading.