By Ismael AbuSalaam
Global Music Group’s $24 million dollar June acquisition of Death Row has been terminated, according to a lawsuit filed in bankruptcy court by Suge Knight’s estate and the trustees of Death Row Records.
The complaint details that Global Music Group failed to consummate the acquisition of the label as required by a deadline of July 23, 2008, or by the forbearance extension date of July 29.
The lawsuit goes on to state that “since July 29, GMG (Global Music Group) has continued to fail to forward the purchase money, instead making a number of requests for extension, none of which has been granted by the Trustees.”
GMG attempted to negotiate further extensions with the Death Row trustees on August 15, only to be rebuffed with a termination letter calling the deal off.
The backup bidder Entertainment One (E1), upon hearing of GMG’s failure to close, relinquished their rights to the sale for unspecified reasons.
The trustees of Death Row and Suge Knight’s estate are now requesting that the courts allow the label to again negotiate with other potential buyers.
If approved, Death Row’s assets including its masters collection of albums would again be up for public auction.
The label was founded in 1991 by Dr. Dre and Marion “Suge” Knight, and was home to Tupac, Snoop Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, The Lady of Rage and other West Coast stars.
Fueled by its peak mid 90’s period, the label has sold close to 50 million albums worldwide and grossed an estimated $750 million dollars in revenue.
Despite this the labeled spiraled to financial ruin, spurred on by the murder of Tupac Shakur, the departures of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and inadequate accounting practices.
Representatives from Global Music Group and Suge Knight could not be reached for comment at press time.