Published: Thursday September 10, 2009 MYT 9:00:00 AM
Updated: Thursday September 10, 2009 MYT 3:57:39 PM
Would-be Pirate Bay buyer ousted from stock market
STOCKHOLM: The would-be buyer of Swedish filesharing website The Pirate Bay has been kicked out of the smallcap stock exchange Aktietorget for misleading the market.
Aktietorget said Global Gaming Factory X AB breached its transparency principles by saying the financing of The Pirate Bay acquisition was secured, that the company had received two informal takeover offers, and that it was in final negotiations with copyright owners about content for the site.
In fact, the money hadn’t yet been raised, the takeover offers couldn’t be verified and negotiations with the music industry were at an early stage, the market place said.
Global Gaming said in June that it planned to buy The Pirate Bay domain name and related websites for 60mil kronor (about RM30mil) and transform it into a legal online hub for sharing music and films.
Its chief executive, Hans Pandeya, has acknowledged that he made a mistake when he sent out press releases with unconfirmed information but he has dismissed claims that he lied.
On Wednesday, he told The Associated Press that he intends to go ahead with acquisition and will pay out of his own pocket if the unidentified investors pull out.
The Pirate Bay is one of the world’s largest filesharing venues with more than 20 million users globally.
In April, four men connected with the site were sentenced to one-year prison terms for abetting violations of copyright law and ordered to pay a fine of 30mil kronor (RM14mil). — AP
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