Kirch Group founder Leo Kirch is accusing Liberty Media Corp. and Deutsche Bank of a conspiracy to destroy his now-defunct company.
Kirch filed a lawsuit against Liberty and Deutsche Bank in Manhattan State Supreme Court in New York Wednesday, AP reported.
The complaint charged that Liberty and its chairman, John Malone, and Deutsche Bank and its chairman, Rolf Breuer, conspired to undermine a deal Kirch was negotiating to bring his privately owned company public, AP said.
According to the complaint, Breuer was in New York for the World Economic Forum Feb. 3, 2002, when he said during an interview by Bloomberg Television that Kirch Group would not be able to secure further financing and could not survive as a going concern.
Kirch -- who saw his Kirch Group file for bankruptcy protection in 2002 -- has sued Breuer in Germany over the same interview.
According to Kirch's New York-based attorney, Lawrence Rolnick, Malone was hoping the breakup of Kirch Group would help Liberty to gain control over Germany's cable market.
