Hans Pandeya, Chief executive officer of Global Gaming Factory X--the firm trying to takeover The Pirate Bay and now swirling in controversy--says the list of his financial backers has been revealed to The Los Angeles Times.
It was mentioned by Pandeya last Friday after Swedish stock exchange AktieTorget withheld trading in Global Gaming's shares when it did not receive all the data it requested about the company's financial position, according to reports in Swedish newsprint SvD. Separately, A criminal investigation has been launched by Swedish authorities as reported by SvD into potential insider trading related to an mysterious jump in Global Gaming's share price a week before the company declared its intention to buy The Pirate Bay. Questions have also been raised about the financial health of Global Gaming and of Pandeya himself, who is the company's largest shareowner. Both he and the firm are grappling with debt, former Global Gaming CTO Johan Sellstrom told CNET News.
Ever since his announcement on his company's acquisition plan, Pandeya has declined to provide the names of his investors, who he has claimed will put up 60 million Swedish Kroner, or about $8.5 million, to fund the acquisition.
Pandeya's credibility is question after what has risen in the past week
However in a lengthy e-mail exchange with CNET News on Friday, Pandeya said that besides turning over investors' names to government officials from the stock market, he has also given the names to Ben Fritz, a media reporter with the LA Times.
"I put The Los Angeles Times in touch with one of them who guaranteed the investment," Pandeya wrote. "I also provided (Fritz) with the name of the investment bank that is overseeing the investors provided they did not disclose this. So, the DD (Pandeya presumably means "due diligence") involving this has been done. Now, the stock market requested the names...and I gave them the name of the investment banking company (that) confirmed that the money was in place. Now, The Swedish stock market and Ben Fritz know the name of the investment bank (besides the investors and us)."
AktieTorget officials confirmed in a statement posted online that they did address someone claiming to be an investor. Officials, however, wanted more documentation and it was unavailable Friday. AktieTorget won't allow trading to resume in Global Gaming until it receives more proof that Global Gaming possesses enough money to complete the acquisition.
In a phone interview, Fritz declined to comment and would onlymention a July 31 report he co-wrote about Global Gaming with Times newsman Dawn Chmielewski entitled "Pirate Bay deal surrounded by Hollywood-style headaches."
The account mentions that Global Gaming "has commitments from more than 30 private investors to provide the approximately $4 million cash portion of (The Pirate Bay) acquisition." The newspaper story does not cite the origin of its info nor does it note anywhere that the newspeople spoke to any of the company's financial backers.
A review of Latimes.com did not turn up any other stories by Fritz about Global Gaming or The Pirate Bay.
I requested for the names of investors from him under identical terms he offered to Fritz, and I promised not to publish them until after Thursday. That's the day he has said The Pirate Bay acquisition will be finished.
"We agreed to keep their names private until after the acquisition because they are confused and strongly concerned by the blasting I have experienced in media," Pandeya wrote. "I am scared that they will pull out if journalists start scrutinizing them."
But if this is the situation, then why would he give the names to Fritz? Why wouldn't Fritz weigh in on the dispute if he had this information? There are lots of questions still unanswered about Global Gaming.
Still, nary of the motions is bigger than this one: what will become of The Pirate Bay if the merger falls through?
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