Gupta Seeks to Overturn 'Irresponsibility' Claims

Vin Gupta - the founder of ORC-parent Infogroup - has asked a Delaware-based judge to dismiss claims from former shareholders that he was in breach of his duties during the firm's $468m sale to private equity group CCMP Capital Advisors last year.

The sale was first announced in March 2010, when Infogroup's Board unanimously approved it. However, the agreement met opposition from certain shareholder groups, with opponents accusing the Board of attempting to sell the company at 'an irresponsibly low price'.

Certain investors in the company filed a lawsuit in Nebraska State Court on behalf of shareholders, alleging 'breaches of fiduciary duty' by the Board.

Gupta, who at the time of the sale held around 14.8 million shares in the company, made about $101m from the deal.

Yesterday, his attorney said that shareholder groups have yet to 'provide any facts' to support their allegations; arguing that the sale process had been fair and transparent, and that Gupta had not received any special benefits.

According to reports in the press, the judge has not yet indicated when he will rule on the request.

Gupta was sacked as Infogroup Chairman in 2008, following an investigation which found him guilty of misspending millions of company dollars for private use of a jet plane, an 80-foot yacht, apartments in Hawaii and California, a University of Nebraska stadium box and personal flights for Bill and Hillary Clinton.

As a result of an internal investigation, Gupta agreed to pay back $9m over a five-year period, which was more than offset by the $10m he received as part of his severance payment.

He has since formed Database101, a firm that researches and compiles business contacts, segmented according to demographics such as age, income and location.

Web sites: www.infogroup.com and www.database101.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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