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Vulcan Ventures Inc. has taken control of Cardinal Technologies Inc. by acquiring more than half of the company's common stock, after first accusing Cardinal of purposely inflating its value.
Vulcan, an investment group led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, acquired a 16.7 percent stake in Cardinal last September but later claimed that Cardinal had intentionally misrepresented its net worth and sales projections.
Vulcan then demanded that Cardinal executives renegotiate the terms of the original deal, and gained 50.35 percent of the company's outstanding stock plus two seats on a downsized board of directors.
The takeover became official June 14, when the board of directors approved the settlement.
In recent months, Vulcan has fortified its control of Cardinal by replacing the company's top management with its own executive team. All seven of Cardinal's founders are gone, including former chairman and president Harold Krall, who also was the company's biggest shareholder.
Many mid-level managers also have left the company, along with part of the sales staff.
Also, the former seven-member board now has just...