Several AL investors who "provided seed money" for The
Golf Channel during its startup are suing the network in a
Birmingham court, "claiming they were shortchanged" when it
was sold to Comcast earlier this year, according to Michael
Tomberlin of the BIRMINGHAM NEWS. In addition to The Golf
Channel, the suit also names network Chair Arnold Palmer,
CEO Joe Gibbs and other execs as defendants. The investors,
who include Aliant Bank head John Russell Thomas, claim they
"recouped only" 80% of their original investment, while
later investors "earned a return of up to five times what
they put in." Comcast paid individual investors $676M for
their stake in The Golf Channel in February, and the
plaintiffs say they "should have reaped" $23.4M from the
sale instead of the $1.1M they received. The Golf Channel
officials said that a "recapitalization plan and other
changes to the company's financial structure made the
original investment worth less." The suit was initially
filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court but was moved to
U.S. District Court in Birmingham (BIRMINGHAM NEWS, 5/9).
