Anthem Sports & Entertainment, the parent company of The Fight Network, is TNA’s exclusive broadcaster in Canada, as well as the exclusive worldwide digital streaming partner for all TNA programming
? Billy Corgan’s attorney Scott Sims told The Tennessean newspaper that his client is ready to present his case in its entirety to the court at a later date, meaning that the lawsuit against TNA and its principal officers will go ahead as planned. “Mr. Corgan understands that temporary injunctive relief is an extraordinary remedy and, due to the nature of the proceedings, he did not have full access to information in the defendants’ possession that bears on the issues in this case. Mr. Corgan looks forward to the opportunity to conduct full discovery into these matters and present his case in its entirety to the Court at a later date,” the statement from Sims said. Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle yesterday ruled that the loan agreement between Corgan and Dixie Carter was nonbinding under Tennessee law and therefore he is not entitled to evoke a clause that would have given him control of TNA. The Chancellor said that Corgan’s claims that TNA was insolvent were ambiguous, so combined with the illegal loan agreement, she had to reject Corgan’s motion for an injunction. “The (relevant section) of the pledge agreement, the court concludes, was not implemented in accordance with Tennessee law and the LLC operating agreement, and Section 6 is, therefore, unenforceable to remove the defendant LLC managers,” Hobbs Lyled said in her ruling. “As to the occurrence of a default by way of insolvency, there has not been demonstrated a substantial likelihood of success on the merits because the operative text of the pledge agreement, ‘becomes insolvent,’ is ambiguous when applied to the facts of record.” Billy Corgan, who gave TNA three loans, is supposed to get paid back his money by today according to his agreement with Dixie Carter.
Dixie Carter will continue as Chair of the Company, as well as her position on the Board of Managers
? Anthem Sports & Entertainment and Impact Ventures, parent company of TNA Impact Wrestling, today announced that Anthem has provided a credit facility to TNA to fund operations. It is also an equity stakeholder of Impact Ventures. The agreement includes the appointment of Anthem Executive Vice President Ed Nordholm to the Impact Ventures Board of Managers. The company will be managed by the Board with Mr. Nordholm representing the Board on all major operating and restructuring decisions. Billy Corgan is no longer with the company. “We have had a successful, long-term partnership with Fight Network as our Canadian broadcaster, and more recently as our global digital partner,” said Dixie Carter. “Anthem’s team has extensive media experience, and I am excited to have that available to us as we plan for the future.” Leonard Asper, CEO of Anthem, said “We have consistently maintained that investing in content as we grow our distribution is important as a strategic necessity, and working more closely with a strong brand like TNA is in line with that. This financing is an extension of the support we have been providing since the beginning of the year.” He added, “There are tremendous opportunities to support the company’s growth on all platforms and in all media along side Dixie and the incredible talent and staff at TNA.”
? In a one line sentence part of the press release that Anthem Sports & Entertainment issued today it was announced that Billy Corgan has left TNA. TNA had until November 1 to pay off Billy Corgan’s three loans and Anthem had offered to pay him with interest. Corgan resisted the payments and wanted control of the company instead but Monday’s ruling in Nashville left Corgan with no option but to take the money and pack his bags. TNA announced Corgan’s hiring in and was appointed as Senior Producer, Creative and Talent Development. In he was promoted to President, replacing Dixie Carter while she moved to the role of Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer. Corgan was very well liked in the TNA locker room while Carter’s credibility took a hit over the past few months. It will be interesting to see how those in the back will react to today’s news. The Smashing Pumpkins front man has not commented publicly about his departure from TNA. His lawsuit against TNA and upper management will still go ahead as planned.