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Viacom Sues Harmonix Shareholders

Viacom Sues Harmonix Shareholders

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The legal world is a mess.

A while back, Harmonix shareholders sued Viacom, saying that Viacom did not pay them appropriate performance-based bonuses when Rock Band did well. They claimed that Viacom manipulated costs in order to scheme its way out of paying them what they were owed. Now, Harmonix shareholders are being sued by Viacom for $131 million dollars because Viacom says Harmonix did not perform up to expectations.



Here’s the deal: Viacom paid Harmonix shareholders $150 million in anticipation of the company’s 2007 earn-outs. Unfortunately, the earn-outs for 2007 were way below what was originally estimated, coming in at only $18 million, and Viacom is basically looking for these shareholders to pay out the difference.

Man, I remember a time when it wasn’t about the money; it was all about the rock, man!

By Angelo M. D’Argenio

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