MIAMI, Dec. 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. (the "Company" or "SBS") (Nasdaq:SBSA) today announced the dismissal of Lehman Brother Holdings, Inc.'s ("Lehman") lawsuit, which alleged that SBS had violated the Preferred Stock Certificate of Designations by incurring debt without paying quarterly dividends.
"We are pleased with the Court's decision and believe that the ruling supports our long-standing position that Lehman's claims were frivolous and without merit," commented Raúl Alarcón, Chairman and CEO. "We are glad to see this matter resolved and are moving forward on executing our growth strategy."
On February 14, 2013, Lehman initiated a litigation against the Company in Delaware Court of Chancery. The lawsuit sought a declaratory judgment that a Voting Rights Triggering Event had occurred pursuant to the certificate of designations for the Series B preferred stock, as a result of the non-payment of dividends. Specifically, Lehman alleged that the Company was prohibited from incurring indebtedness, but nonetheless did so for the purposes of purchasing assets relating to its Houston television station and the issuance of its 12.5% Senior Secured Notes due 2017.
On February 25, 2014, Vice Chancellor Glasscock granted SBS's motions for summary judgment and judgment on the pleadings, and denied Lehman's motion for summary judgment. Lehman appealed.
On December 11, 2014, the Supreme Court of Delaware affirmed the Chancery Court's dismissal of Lehman's claims stating: "We have carefully considered the arguments of the parties and find no error in the Court of Chancery's determination that acquiescence barred Lehman's claims, given the undisputed facts of record."
The dismissal of Lehman's claim does not affect SBS's separately pending lawsuit which alleges that Lehman wrongfully breached its obligations by failing to fund its portion of the Company's former revolving credit facility. SBS will continue to vigorously pursue this claim.
About Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc.
Spanish Broadcasting System, Inc. is the largest publicly traded Hispanic-controlled media and entertainment company in the United States. SBS owns and/or operates 20 radio stations located in the top U.S. Hispanic markets of New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Puerto Rico, airing the Spanish Tropical, Regional Mexican, Spanish Adult Contemporary, Top 40 and Latin Rhythmic format genres. The Company also owns and operates MegaTV, a television operation with over-the-air, cable and satellite distribution and affiliates throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. SBS also produces live concerts and events and owns 21 bilingual websites, including www.LaMusica.com, a bilingual Spanish-English online site providing content related to Latin music, entertainment, news and culture. The Company's corporate Web site can be accessed at www.spanishbroadcasting.com.
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements, which are included in accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the Company's actual results and performance in future periods to be materially different from any future results or performance suggested by the forward-looking statements in this press release. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from these expectations. Forward-looking statements, which are based upon certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies and expectations of the Company, are generally identifiable by use of the words "may," "will," "expect," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "could," "estimate," "might," or "continue" or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results, events and developments to differ are included from time to time in the Company's public reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All forward-looking statements made herein are qualified by these cautionary statements and there can be no assurance that the actual results, events or developments referenced herein will occur or be realized. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.