A.M.E. Founder Files Suit Over Failed Buyout

The founder of A.M.E., a Burbank videotape post-production company, and investment banker Merrill Lynch & Co. have filed suits against each other in state court over a failed attempt to take the company private in 1988, Dow Jones reported.

Andrew M. McIntyre, A.M.E.’s founder, asked for $8 million in damages, charging that Merrill Lynch breached an agreement to arrange $100 million in financing for the buyout. Merrill Lynch is seeking $625,000 in fees it says McIntyre agreed to pay, plus punitive damages.

After McIntyre’s buyout bid failed last February, A.M.E. was taken over by a holding company formed by investor Lawrence J. Berkowitz last April. Merrill Lynch says McIntyre received $25 million on that deal. But McIntyre claims he received $8 million less on the Berkowitz takeover than he would have on his own buyout.