Warner Music chief Edgar Bronfman Jnr is facing a $100 million lawsuit from a former associate, one time Simon & Schuster top man Richard Snyder, over allegations that the Warner boss failed to fulfill promises made in the run up to his acquisition of the major record company.
In his lawsuit filed with the New York courts, Snyder claims he had been looking into investment opportunities for Bronfman after the two men met in 2001. When Time Warner put its record company up for sale in 2003 he says he played a crucial role in providing Bronfman with information about the major, and in lining up the finance to enable the resulting $2.6 billion acquisition. He also claims to have engineered a meeting between Bronfman and EMI chief Eric Nicoli to discuss the possibility of a merger immediately after the former's purchase of Warner. Crucially, Snyder claims Bronfman promised to pay him "fair and equitable" compensation for his role in any successful deal, but that the Warner chief then rebuffed him when he approached for his 'compensation' for helping engineer the major label purchase.
Bronfman's people deny all of Snyder's allegations, claiming he wasn't involved in the Warner purchase in anyway.