TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Cato Institute's CEO says billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch are attempting a hostile takeover of the libertarian-leaning think tank through a lawsuit they filed in Kansas.
The Koch brothers are longtime shareholders in the institute. Their lawsuit seeks a court ruling that would leave the institute with only one other shareholder, President and Chief Executive Officer Ed Crane.
Crane said Thursday the lawsuit is an effort by Charles Koch to turn the institute into a group serving his partisan agenda.
An attorney for the brothers said they've tried for months to resolve differences over the status of a 25 percent ownership interest of a shareholder who died in October.
The brothers filed their lawsuit Wednesday in state court in Johnson County, where the institute lists an office.
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