After a drawn out, public debacle, Dragon*Con has announced they have finally managed to divorce themselves from accused molester Edward Kramer.
We previously reported on the story of Kramer, a Dragon*Con co-founder accused of child-molestation who has been using health issues to avoid going to court since his initial arrest in 2000. Although he was no longer involved with the convention, he was getting compensation for his holdings ($154,000 in 2011).
But The Mary Sue received a press release today from McGraw Euston Associates on behalf of Dragon*Con which states, “The Board of Directors and Shareholders of Dragon Con / ACE, Inc., producer of Dragon*Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy and sci-fi convention, have agreed to merge the company into Dragon Con, Inc. (Dragon Con) in a cash-out merger.”
Although the general public, creators, and fans have been calling for Dragon*Con to do something just like this for years, they expressed their agreement but said it was a difficult process. One it looks like they’ve finally managed.
Led by Pat Henry, David Cody and Robert Dennis, ownership of Dragon Con includes five of the six founding owners of Dragon Con / ACE (the old Dragon Con). The effective date of the merger is July 8,
2013.Edward Kramer, who has not had any role in managing or organizing the convention since 2000, was offered cash for his shares in the old company. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“This decision only affects the ownership of the old Dragon Con,” said Henry, President and Chief Executive Officer of Dragon Con. “Our members and others who attend Dragon*Con 2013 will experience the same fantastic convention they have come to expect from us.”
The release went on to say all current agreements with hotels in the area, guests, and performers will go unchanged or with amendments added to recognize the new ownership.
As soon as news broke, creators often vocal about the Kramer situation (some even boycotting the convention), took to Twitter to comment.
“REALLY happy @DragonCon’s ‘sorry, we can’t do anything about it’ has finally turned into ‘we got rid of Ed Kramer,'” said Ron Marz. “Obviously @DragonCon kicking Kramer to the curb was long overdue, but the most important thing is that it’s finally done.”
Steve Niles said, Great news about @DragonCon. They did the right thing. Great way to start the week,” while cosplayer DJ Spider wrote, “Best @DragonCon news of the day – finally! Bye bye, Ed Kramer!” Facebook users also expressed their appreciation for the news on the Dragon*Con facebook page.
UPDATE: We were asked to clarify this situation and recieved this statement from Greg Euston of McGraw Euston Associates. He wrote:
In this merger, Dragon Con, Inc., replaces the old company, Dragon*Con/ACE Inc. Pat Henry and four other shareholders exchanged their shares in the old company for 100 percent of the shares in the new company. Ed Kramer, the remaining minority shareholder in the old company, was cashed out. Dragon*Con/ACE Inc. no longer exists.
As a consequence of this merger, Mr. Kramer no longer has any interest, financial or otherwise, in Dragon Con.
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Published: Jul 8, 2013 01:17 pm