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Bolt settles suit with customer Authentic Brands Group

Bolt settles suit with customer Authentic Brands Group

Bolt has reached a settlement with one of its largest customers, which sued the check-out payments company over claims of faulty technology.

Authentic Brands Group (ABG), which owns and licenses brands including Forever 21, has agreed to dismiss its suit and has been awarded a stake in Bolt, with which it will continue to work. According to Bloomberg, ABG will not pay for the stake, which will be less than five per cent.

ABG sued Bolt in March, claiming that the payments firm "utterly failed to deliver on the technological capabilities that it held itself out as possessing". This failure cost its brands $150 million in sales, said the suit.

In addition, ABG accused Bolt of overstating the relationship between the firms in an effort to secure investors at a high valuation. In January, Bolt raised $355 million at a valuation of $11 billion.

However, ABG chairman Jamie Salter now says the firm will work with Bolt to "deploy its exceptional checkout technology to several of our portfolio brands".

Adds Salter: "ABG looks forward to deepening its ties with Bolt by becoming shareholders under the new leadership of Chief Executive Maju Kuruvilla and we are excited to continue exploring broader opportunities with our businesses."

In May, Bolt set out plans to sack a third of its workforce, amounting to 250 staff, blaming market conditions across the tech sector.

Comments: (1)

A Finextra member
A Finextra member 07 July, 2022, 21:23Be the first to give this comment the thumbs up 0 likes

So this "exceptional checkout technology" doesn't work according to the suit since it "utterly failed to deliver on the technological capabilities that it held itself out as possessing" according to a large customer?

Yet despite this ABG will "work with Bolt to "deploy its "exceptional checkout technology" to several of our portfolio brands".

Does the technology work or not or is it just that ABG  thinks that it overpaid and used its leverage to get a reduced price? Not great for "investors" in Bolt unless the settlement somehow applies to all the investors.

While a large customer may be satisfied it doesn't look like the issues are over here.

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