Citing a failure to honor certain terms, Millionaire.com Thursday rescinded a
merger with The Great Gatsby.
The companies announced the deal in mid-January. Millionaire, a specialty retailer targeting affluent shoppers, purchased Gatsby with the goal of adding antiques, collectibles and architectural reproductions to its lineup.
Millionaire.com (MLRE)
did not elaborate on the issues that prompted the merger cancellation. Millionaire.com signed the deal to join with the auction company last February, two
months after it began trading publicly.
Millionaire.com will receive the 4.3 million shares
it paid for The Great Gatsby. Gatsby representatives will also be removed from Millionaire.com’s board.
The new board consists of Ken Costanzo, former vice president of W. R.
Grace; Dean Echols, president of
Manheim Government Auction Services (the largest volume auction company in
the world); David Strong, senior vice president of marketing for
Millionaire.com; Rick Seibert, Millionaire.com’s chief financial officer;
Frank Osborne, vice president and general manager of Millionaire.com’s
global auction division; and Robert L. White, Millionaire.com’s founder and
the new board’s chairman.
“Without control of the board, Millionaire.com was not able to follow
through with the implementation of its original business plan as it would
have liked,” said Costanzo, board member. “Our plan to mass market ‘the very
best the world has to offer’ can now be accomplished.