A professional networking club in Atlanta has settled a dispute with the financial company that bought the club in 2022. Ryan Glover, CEO of Greenwood, and Ryan Wilson, CEO of The Gathering Spot, announced the resolution in a joint statement on Monday.
“No one wins when the family feuds,” the two parties said. “We apologize for distracting our communities over the last week as this became a topic of so much public discussion. As we work together to build for our community and customers, we will continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards.”
As Blavity previously reported, the two parties first formed a partnership in 2022 when Greenwood, a Black-owned digital banking platform, acquired the networking club known as The Gathering Spot. However, the former owners of The Gathering Spot recently filed a lawsuit against Greenwood CEO Ryan Glover and board member Paul Judge. In their suit, the plaintiffs said the fintech company still needs to pay the money it owes them.
“Defendants, in addition to their fiduciary duties to the Former TGS Unitholders, also knew that Greenwood had a contractual obligation to pay the Former TGS Unitholders substantial amounts under the Purchase Agreement,” the complaint stated. “Instead of honoring Greenwood’s obligation to pay the Shareholders, and in violation of their fiduciary duties to those Former TGS Unitholders, Defendants instead paid to themselves a bonus.”
After resolving their dispute, the two parties didn’t disclose the settlement terms but vowed to work together for their community.
“Greenwood was founded to support financial freedom and economic prosperity for the Black community, and we acquired The Gathering Spot last year to combine forces towards this common mission,” Glover said in the statement. “We are ready to finish what we started, in the same spirit that we began with and continue to build and grow our community.”
The Gathering Spot opened its first location in Atlanta in 2016, aiming to provide a positive work environment for Black professionals. Greenwood, which offers debit cards, saving accounts and other financial services, acquired TGS in 2022 for $50 million.
