Photo Credit: Wesley Tingey
Merlin has confirmed the partial dismissal of its lawsuit against Triller – and doubled down on plans to seek a more than $2.5 million default judgement. Meanwhile, as it grapples with a possible NASDAQ delisting, Triller has acknowledged encountering “obstacles over the past year.”
Digital Music News exclusively covered Merlin’s partial Triller suit dismissal yesterday. In short, the indie giant dropped Triller Hold Co (but not the overarching Triller Group) from its seven-month-old missing-compensation lawsuit.
Subsequently, a Merlin rep confirmed the development and the ongoing default judgement push against Triller Group.
“Merlin always seeks to resolve its disagreements with licensees constructively and amicably,” the rep said to DMN. “Following Triller’s provision of replacement equity warrants as required by our contract, Merlin has dismissed its warrant breach claim against Triller Hold Co LLC without prejudice, while expressly reserving all rights. However, Merlin’s claim for $2.55 million in unpaid licensing fees continues in full against Triller Group, and we look forward to the court’s ruling on our default judgment motion.”
As we previously reported, Merlin is further aiming to collect interest and costs, thereby pushing the total payment to at least $3.2 million. Also as broken down by DMN, the high-stakes default judgement hearing is scheduled to take place on November 17th.
Time will tell whether the court approves the relevant motion – and whether Merlin can collect the possible default judgement. It was only last week that the plaintiff, in requesting a one-week delay for the mentioned hearing, reiterated that the Triller defendants “have not appeared in this action.”
Moreover, Triller has until today to formally oppose the default judgement demand, but the appropriate document doesn’t seem to have made its way into the docket. That point and the lack of an appearance could be the result of wider operational woes for the entity, which is facing a possible NASDAQ delisting after failing to disclose its financials for 2024 as well as Q1 and Q2 2025.
In a release, Triller on Monday emphasized plans to seek a suspension and delisting stay via a NASDAQ panel hearing. And though the Triller Corp website looks to be down (“This domain is successfully pointed at WP Engine, but is not configured for an account on our platform,” a homepage message reads) and the company hasn’t responded to our requests for comment, execs are “confident in regaining compliance by December 2025.”
“Triller Group Inc. $ILLR’s October 15, 2024, merger with Triller Corp was highly complex,” Triller’s investor relations account wrote on X this past Monday.
“Despite obstacles over the past year, including integrating over 40 subsidiaries across seven countries, management transitions, and a new auditor addressing complex financial matters, our dedicated team is confident in regaining compliance by December 2025. As we approach the completion of our restructuring plan, we remain committed to delivering market updates at the earliest opportunity,” the business concluded.
At the time of writing, Triller Group stock (NASDAQ: ILLR) was hovering around 60 cents per share, reflecting a 13% decrease from opening.
Share On:
CLICK HERE TO PROMOTE YOUR MUSIC/VIDEO