Surfstitch legal opponent buys substantial stake
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New Surfstitch CEO Mike Sonand said he was focused on restoring the beleaguered media and retail company to profit. Michele Mossop
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by Jessica Gardner
The company behind titles like Surfing World and Coastalwatch, which is sparring with Surfstich in court, has made the surprise move of taking a substantial stake in the embattled company.
In what may be a case of the hunted becoming the hunter, a company called Crown Financial revealed on Monday that it had paid about $2.7 million last week to take its total shareholding in Surfstitch to 8.25 per cent.
The company is linked to Three Crowns Media Group, which Street Talk revealed last week was the mysterious third party with whom Surfstitch had promised to share content from its subsidiary publishers like Magic Seaweed and Garage Entertainment. Surfstitch had considered buying the family-owned media company before it signed a long-term agreement to share its content, which is now the subject of legal action.
Three Crowns Media Group has a portfolio of magazines and websites like Surfing World, Transmoto, Coastalwatch and Mountainwatch and operates out of the same office on Sydney's Northern Beaches as a large related web of companies.
According to documents lodged with the corporate regulator the ownership of Crown Financial and Three Crowns Media Group both flow through Sundell Group - where Kim Sundell is the executive chairman - to the same ultimate owner, Bogasi, which is controlled by James Sundell. David Wooldridge is the common company secretary between the two entities as well. The company did not respond to requests for comment.
