indiegames
February 12th, 2010, 04:50
http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/9/2010/02/340x_custom_1265946580064_applemtv_harmonix_logo.j pgI'm just a simple caveman lawyer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unfrozen_Caveman_Lawyer), and your world of finance frightens and confuses me. However, it sounds like Viacom wants a refund on a substantial bonus it paid to Harmonix's founders.
Long story short, Harmonix was bought by Viacom, the parent company of MTV Networks, in 2006 for $175 million plus "earnouts," which is a jargony way of saying "beat previous figures and you get a premium." In this case, Harmonix got $150 million based on 2007 performance, and some $300 million overall (http://kotaku.com/5082446/rock-band-devs-getting-300-million-in-bonuses) since then. However, Viacom in this filing notes that the $150 million payment was subject to adjustment (http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1339947/000119312510028165/d10k.htm).
While Rock Band has done some $1 billion in revenue since 2007, sales of its games have sagged in the past year. So now Viacom says it believes it's "entitled to a refund of a substantial portion" of that payment, although the final amount is TBA.
Viacom Asking For ‘Substantial' Refund on Harmonix Earnout From Founders (http://paidcontent.org/article/419-viacom-asking-for-substantial-refund-on-harmonix-earnout-from-founders/) [Paid Content]
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1)http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?i=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?i=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/kotaku/full/~4/OsoWFshgmw8
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/OsoWFshgmw8/back-pay-is-hell-viacom-wants-refund-from-harmonix)
Long story short, Harmonix was bought by Viacom, the parent company of MTV Networks, in 2006 for $175 million plus "earnouts," which is a jargony way of saying "beat previous figures and you get a premium." In this case, Harmonix got $150 million based on 2007 performance, and some $300 million overall (http://kotaku.com/5082446/rock-band-devs-getting-300-million-in-bonuses) since then. However, Viacom in this filing notes that the $150 million payment was subject to adjustment (http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1339947/000119312510028165/d10k.htm).
While Rock Band has done some $1 billion in revenue since 2007, sales of its games have sagged in the past year. So now Viacom says it believes it's "entitled to a refund of a substantial portion" of that payment, although the final amount is TBA.
Viacom Asking For ‘Substantial' Refund on Harmonix Earnout From Founders (http://paidcontent.org/article/419-viacom-asking-for-substantial-refund-on-harmonix-earnout-from-founders/) [Paid Content]
http://ads.pheedo.com/img.phdo?p=1 (http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?p=1)http://a.rfihub.com/eus.gif?eui=2226http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?d=yIl2AUoC8zA</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:yIl2AUoC8zA) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?d=H0mrP-F8Qgo</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:H0mrP-F8Qgo) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?i=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:D7DqB2pKExk</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:D7DqB2pKExk) http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/kotaku/full?i=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:V_sGLiPBpWU</img> (http://feeds.gawker.com/~ff/kotaku/full?a=OsoWFshgmw8:OIHtZAqly_k:V_sGLiPBpWU)
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/kotaku/full/~4/OsoWFshgmw8
More... (http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/kotaku/full/~3/OsoWFshgmw8/back-pay-is-hell-viacom-wants-refund-from-harmonix)