Dutch media tycoon John de Mol has started proceedings against the current and past board of RTL Nederland. The reason is the disappointing performance of the commercial broadcaster in which De Mol holds a 26.3% stake after selling his Talpa/Tien TV channel.
De Mol is concerned about the value of his earnout, which runs for a period of four years. On Wednesday, September 24, a series of hearings will be held in which members of the RTL Nederland board will be heard under oath. They include former CEO Fons van Westerloo, current CEO Bert Habets, former COO Frank Eijken and RTL’s Gerhard Zeiler.
De Mol claims that RTL published disappointing results just after he signed the agreement to swap Talpa/Tien for a share in RTL Nederland. He believes that with the knowledge of these financial figures, his share would have been greater. He has now started the legal proceeding as negotiations with RTL have so far not lead to a solution, that is acceptable to him.
