Relativity and Ryan Kavanaugh vs Elliott Associates (DH, THR, TW)

By Nancy Tartaglione

The Wrap on Tuesday reported that Ryan Kavanaugh is set to sell Elliott Associates' minority stake in Relativity Media to a consortium of investors led by JPMorgan. That report was refuted by Deadline which said it had confirmed with Elliott Associates that its stake in Relativity is not for sale. "Elliott is not selling. They are not shopping," the investment group said.

Per Deadline, Kavanaugh does have a call option where he can buy Elliott's stake but the investment group would have to agree and it would tack on a sizeable premium making the purchase price "a huge amount of money", insiders told the site.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, some believe that having lost money since it became involved with Relativity in 2007, Elliott has been encircling Kavanaugh with its own managers. On May 12, Kavanaugh's chief lieutenant Michael Joe resigned his position to oversee Relativity for Elliott.

One Hollywood source familiar with Relativity told THR he assumes that if JP Morgan were to get involved, it would only put in a "relatively small investment recouped by fees" from others who wanted in on the deal.

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