Less than a week after Jay-Z filed a lawsuit against Bacardi, the major spirits company is slamming the Roc Nation founder for allegedly backing out on their deal. According to TMZ, Bacardi's subsidiary, Empire Investments, responded to Jay's lawsuit, claiming that both parties actually had a "handshake deal" last December in which Empire agreed to buy Jay's 50 percent stake in the cognac line.
However, the liquor company says How "abruptly reneged on its agreement and doubled its demanded valuation.” The response comes on the heels of the 52-year old music mogul’s company SCLiquor LLC, filed a suit against Bacardi, seeking to investigate allegations that Empire has for years “artificially held D’Usse back from achieving its full potential.”
Jay’s team is claiming that Bacardi is trying to lowball him on the price, and that's why he filed the lawsuit. The complaint states that the structure of the buyout rights “gave Bacardi a perverse incentive to mismanage D’Usse in the interim to artificially decrease its valuation for purposes of cashing out SC at an unfairly low price.”
Documents obtained by TMZ also reveals that the lawsuit “says it needs all books and records, the location of all warehouses storing D’Usse barrels, bottles and accessories, as well as all info regarding Bacardi’s physical inventory and its inventory process.”
However, Bacardi’s clapping back at SC’s claims. The liquor company claims that they already handed him more than 800 pages of financial records, and any further documents he wants are not for his eyes, because they involve Bacardi data— an entirely separate undertaking from the D'ussé venture.
Jay has yet speak out following Bacardi’s responses to his lawsuit. More details to come.
[Via]