Edward Kramer, a co-founder of Dragon Con, will no longer profit from the convention that every Labor Day brings Wookiees and celebrities to Atlanta, his former business partners announced Monday.
Some former Dragon Con attendees had threatened a boycott as long as Kramer, who is accused of molesting children, profited from it.
Five of six founding members of the company said in a statement Monday that they’d merged the old company, DragonCon/ACE, into a new one, Dragon Con, Inc. — giving Kramer cash for his shares.
Kramer is facing child-molestation charges in Gwinnett County. He was extradited from Connecticut where he faced similar charges.
Though Kramer was no longer responsible for running the convention, he continued to earn dividends from its proceeds due to his 34 percent ownership.
According to a statement by the new company, “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.”
McNeill Stokes, who has represented Kramer in lawsuits against DragonCon/ACE, called the merger a “discriminatory squeeze-out” and said the cash offered for Kramer’s shares was “grossly inadequate.”
Stokes said he expects a legal challenge.
The company had offered three times to buy Kramer’s shares for $500,000, in 2004, 2006 and 2008, according to spokesman Greg Euston.
The weekend event, one of the largest pop culture conventions in the country, will be unchanged, said Pat Henry, president and CEO of Dragon Con, Inc.
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