A Happy Birthday Picnic?

Apart from wobbling on the brink of financial collapse a time or two, it’s now the subject of a tug-of-war between its parent companies.

In 2009, after festival founder John Reynolds was chased for euro 432,741 ($675,335) by the Irish royalties collection agency, fellow Irish promoter Denis Desmond stepped in and bought a 71 percent stake in the event for euro 4.2 million ($5.5 million).

He did it through Festival Republic, a company he co-owns with Live Nation.

At the time, it was said the shares were acquired from Peter Aiken, a third Irish promoter, downplaying the fact Reynolds had indirectly sold some of own his shares to a company headed by a rival. Aiken was believed to have owned between 20 percent and 30 percent, which alone wouldn’t have been enough to give FR a 71 percent controlling interest.

“I have been a friend of John Reynolds for a long, long time and have been a fan of the Electric Picnic Festival since its inception,” said FR chief Melvin Benn when the deal was done.

The friendship looked a little stretched in Dublin’s Commercial Court July 30, when Reynolds accused Benn of making decisions on the 2012 and 2013 events that benefited FR more than it did the festival. Benn refuted the charge and said parts of Reynolds’ evidence were “false and misleading.”

Reynolds is suing FR under Section 205 of the Companies Acts, claiming the company is excluding him from the management of the festival and effectively removing him from “any meaningful role” in the decision process when it comes to booking the acts. If that is the case, presumably Desmond and Benn can at least claim the credit for a 2013 lineup that’s sold all 35,000 tickets in advance.

On the other hand, selling out in advance may lead Reynolds to figure that the value of his remaining minority holding has gone up.

The case is being heard by Mr Justice Peter Kelly, who has repeatedly urged both parties to try to settle out of court.

Acts hoping Electric Picnic doesn’t turn into too much of a bun fight on the Stradbally Estate Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 include Fatboy Slim, Bjork, Arctic Monkeys, My Bloody Valentine, The Knife, Franz Ferdinand, Wu-Tang Clan, David Byrne & St.Vincent, Johnny Marr, and Noah & The Whale.