Bertelsmann to Pay Two Former Execs $192 Million
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German media giant Bertelsmann has agreed to pay $192 million to settle a lawsuit by two former executives who said they had helped form a joint venture between the company and America Online, attorneys said Wednesday.
The settlement was less than the $260.8-million award to Jan Buettner and Andreas von Blottnitz that a Santa Barbara County judge had confirmed earlier this year.
The men claimed in a 2001 lawsuit that they had been promised an equity stake in the joint venture in 1995 that established AOL Europe. Three years ago, Bertelsmann decided to sell a 50% share of the entity to AOL Time Warner, now known as Time Warner Inc., for $6.7 billion.
The lawsuit agreement was reached Saturday to avoid legal maneuvering over a possible appeal, said attorney Anthony Murray, who represents Bertelsmann.
“This represents a big reduction from the original judgment,” he said. “We are delighted with the settlement.”
Attorney Bill Price, who represents the plaintiffs, said the settlement was a safe compromise. “Both Mr. Von Blottnitz and Mr. Buettner are satisfied with the amount.”
In December, a jury found that Bertelsmann breached oral and written contracts with Buettner and Von Blottnitz, who live in Santa Barbara County.
The plaintiffs had initially sought as much as $5 billion in damages but later reduced that to about $3 billion.
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