Royal Bank of Scotland has reached an out-of-court deal to settle a costly and embarrassing lawsuit alleging it misled investors during a 12 billion pound ($16 billion) cash call launched just before its near collapse in 2008, sources said.

Sources familiar with the situation said a majority of shareholders in the group look set to accept an offer after days of intense talks delayed the start of a long-awaited trial.

RBS has offered shareholders 82 pence per share in its latest settlement attempt. The deal will cost the bank roughly 200 million pounds.

The deal draws a line under a five-year lawsuit that was due to call disgraced former CEO Fred Goodwin to testify and has been unprecedented in English legal history for its compexity.