Perelman Pays $80 Million To Settle Marvel Lawsuit

August 8, 2008

In a settlement that neither side applauded, investor Ron Perelman has agreed to pay $80 million to bring to an end a lawsuit filed in 1997 in which he is accused of diverting $553.5 million from Marvel Entertainment, which he controlled at the time, to some of his other companies before Marvel filed for bankruptcy in 1996. Of the $80 million, $25.9 million will go to cover legal expenses incurred over the 11 years since the suit was filed. It has been bouncing around the federal court system ever since. Litigation trustees issued a statement saying that they believed it would have been "irresponsible" for them to reject the $80-million settlement, while attorneys for Perelman, the head of Revlon, said that he wanted "to settle the action solely to avoid the burden, expense and uncertainty of continued litigation."