Dragan Solak’s first victory in court against United Group

A firm owned by founder Dragan Solak sued a BC Partners controlled firm in London alleging he was denied bonuses totaling 250 million euro that were promised on part sales of assets of the European telecoms and media firm.

The asset manager-owned firm was liable to pay the money to Solak, a UK court said in an order made public on Thursday with agreement by all the parties. “The proceedings are stayed save for the purposes of enforcement of this consent order,” a London judge said in the signed court filing, Bloomberg reported.

Signal of a possible truce

The agreement to pay could signal a move to thaw a long- running feud between Solak and the London-based asset manager after the sale of some assets. Solak also filed a lawsuit in the Netherlands for unfair dismissal after he was removed as an adviser to the board. A hearing is scheduled for October.

“This represents a complete and final victory for our client in respect of the long overdue payment,” Simon Walsh, a lawyer representing Solak’s firm in the London suit, said.

When his board adviser contract wasn’t renewed in June, Solak was told by the company that the bonus, linked to the sale of parts of the business for about 1.5 billion euro, would be paid, people familiar with the matter previously said.

Solak’s background

Solak, who also owns English football club Southampton FC, started the company in his home town in Serbia in 2000 and, with the help of private equity funding, turned the enterprise into a firm with units in Greece, Bulgaria and most other Balkan countries. He was the chairman of the advisory board and was dismissed in June, Bloomberg reported.

Payment details

BC Partners will make the payments after deducting any taxes due to Luxembourg tax authorities, according to the court’s order. BC Partners declined to comment, reported Bloomberg.