Youbet.com and minority shareholder TV Games Network have settled an ongoing dispute by agreeing to delay court proceedings and arbitration hearings over proxy materials sent to Youbet shareholders last fall.TVG, which has an option to buy a majority interest in Youbet, sued Youbet in September for failing to adequately notify shareholders of the consequences of a buyout by Gemstar-TV Guide International, the parent company of TVG, prior to Youbet's annual meeting.According to a document filed in Delaware court Friday, "...the parties have reached an agreement in principle to settle their dispute. The parties have agreed, subject to (the Court's) wishes, to extend all deadlines in the ... action for two weeks without prejudice to allow the parties to memorialize their agreement in principle."
Similar documents were lodged in the arbitration proceeding. TVG acquired a 16.6% interest in Youbet in June of 2002. It has an option to buy a 51% interest in the company by May 18, 2004. In the Youbet proxy material the company proposed staggered term-limits for its board and a new threshold of two-thirds majority to change the company's articles and by-laws. TVG balked at the proposal because it could buy a majority interest in Youbet and possibly not have enough seats on the board to make changes.
