Maker Studios co-founder and former chief executive Danny Zappin
and three other former executives have filed a lawsuit aiming to
prevent a shareholder vote to approve a takeover bid by Walt Disney
Co.
Mr. Zappin and three other former executives, Scott Katz, Derek
Jones and Will Watkins, filed an application in a California
superior court seeking a temporary restraining order to delay the
April 15 vote.
The group claims documents that Maker sent to shareholders to
vote on the merger agreement with Disney failed to include a
reference to a pending lawsuit that alleged some Maker directors
issued shares to themselves to dilute Mr. Zappin's ownership and
reduce his ability to control the company.
Mr. Zappin stepped down last May as CEO and filed a lawsuit a
month later against the online video producer.
Representatives from Disney and Maker weren't immediately
available to comment on the latest litigation.
Disney agreed in March to acquire Maker for $500 million in
cash, a deal that would give Disney a strong foothold in the
burgeoning but financially uncertain market for channels on Google
Inc.'s YouTube. The deal would be worth an additional $450 million
if Maker meets certain performance targets.
Write to John Kell at john.kell@wsj.com
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