Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment Sued Over Redbox Acquisition by Consultant Who Claims He’s Owed Several Million Dollars
20.04.2024 - 03:50
/ variety.com
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor A media consultant sued Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, alleging he is owed “at least several million dollars” for work he did related to the company’s $370 million acquisition in 2022 of Redbox, the DVD kiosk and streaming company. Keith Knee, described in his legal complaint as an advisory and consulting services professional in the media industry, filed suit against Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment on Friday, April 19, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Knee’s lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages. A copy of the complaint is available at this link. Reached by Variety, a rep for Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment declined to comment.
In 2016, Redbox‘s parent company, Outerwall, was taken private by Apollo Global Management. According to the suit, in March 2020, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment CEO and chairman Bill Rouhana asked Knee “to provide consulting services to CSSE in connection with a strategic business transaction” between Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment and Redbox Automated Retail LLC. On the Redbox project, Knee “worked directly with Rouhana and Galen Smith, Redbox’s CEO,” per the lawsuit.
On or about April 2, 2020, Knee sent Rouhana an overview of the potential transaction with Redbox. The following day, “CSSE sent Knee’s overview almost verbatim to Redbox,” the suit alleges. On or about April 15, 2020, Rouhana told Knee that “he did not want to pay a retainer for Knee’s services, but instead proposed a fee payable upon the success of the transaction,” according to the lawsuit.