United Group founder Dragan Solak has asked the Dutch Enterprise Chamber of the Amsterdam Court of Appeal to launch an investigation into a “serious governance crisis” at United Media.
Last week Solak and CEO Victoriya Boklag were effectively sacked from the company in what the lawsuit described as as an act of “revenge” for an earlier legal action in London against United Group’s holding company for non-payment of bonuses.
Solak and Boklag have spent the last 25 years transforming the Serbian cable company into the largest media and telecoms operator in Southeast Europe with annual revenues of €3 billion. They remain significant minority shareholders.
Earlier this month, BC Partners rejected a proposal for a management buyout made by the founders.
“BC Partners’s unilateral decision to impose new leadership, suddenly and without notice to staff or shareholders, on a highly complex business operating across multiple jurisdictions is in breach of Dutch law and puts United Group’s future and value in jeopardy,” Solak said in a statement.
“Our rejected management buyout offer, which could have made them triple their investment in United Group, demonstrates our success to date and will serve as a benchmark against which the new management’s performance in delivering shareholder value will be judged,” he said.
In last week’s announcement, BC Partners said the business would be refocussed on EU territories.
Dragan Solak is also the majority owner and chairman of Southampton Football Club.
