(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Officials at the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) announced the company recently won a legal dispute against Saudi prince Al Waleed Bin Talal.
According to a LBC statement, a French court ruled the company has “won back rights” to its brands in Europe, the United States, Australia, and Africa. The statement adds that Bin Talal will face “a bill for expenses.”
“The court’s decision stipulated that Bin Talal shall waiver his alleged right to the said channels and give them back to LBCI, but also be responsible for all fees and expenses of the lawsuit he lost,” officials at LBC said in a statement.
The dispute started in the early 2000’s when Bin Talal’s Rotana group, the Arab World’s largest entertainment company, took a stake in the Beirut-based broadcasting company.
LBC did not announce the details of the lawsuit, only revealing the dispute involved “production fees and company ownership.”
According to Al-Arabiya, LBC chief Pierre Daher and Bin Talal were once “allies,” with the Saudi prince investing in LBC in 2008. They fell out over “several issues” and Daher was sidelined as head of the corporation’s production arm, PAC.
PAC stands for LBC’s Production and Acquisition Company, which filed for liquidation in 2012 and resulted in the discharge of 400 employees.
The legal ruling stipulated that all LBCI trademarks and related branding will revert to the company founders.
LBCI went global in 1996 when it launched its satellite channel covering the Arab World, European Union, United States, Canada, Americas and Australia.