Thread: Miss Universe purchased by Thai business mogul

the Thai was the best looking on the stage, however she didn't do as well on the final question

Originally Posted by S Landreth

That didn’t go well

• New Thai owner of Miss Universe files for bankruptcy

JKN Global Group Plc (JKN), which acquired the Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) last year, filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday due to a liquidity crunch.

JKN informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that its board of directors resolved on Tuesday to file for bankruptcy with the Central Bankruptcy Court to seek protection from creditors.

The SET was notified that JKN filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday and asked the court to allow JKN to undergo its business rehabilitation process without interference from creditors.

JKN asked the court for permission to take charge and implement the rehabilitation plan.

The pageant owner told the SET it would carry out the following five rehab measures:

- Restructure its business and finances to respond to its current financial situation and address the liquidity crunch.
- Seek lower interest rates on debt instalments so it has enough revenue to continue running the businesses.
- Seek funds from new investors and financial institutions.
- Sell off non-performing assets to earn money to repay creditors.
- Prepare a plan to ensure liquidity.

JKN filed for bankruptcy despite reporting higher assets than debts during the first six months of this year. Its June report to the SET recorded assets worth 12.161 billion against debt of 7.398 billion baht.

JKN announced in October that it had acquired the Miss Universe brand for 800 million baht. It pledged to increase the brand’s worth by at least 40%.

In January this year, JKN announced it had chosen El Salvado to host Miss Universe 2023.

Gotta wonder what's going on. Did they mess up their due diligence that badly or is this some kinda backdoor deal?

Highlights from the 2023 Miss Universe’s national costume show

The 72nd Miss Universe pageant in San Salvador, El Salvador, gracefully came to a close on November 19. Let's reminisce once again about the National Costume Show that took place on November 16, 2023.

Miss Nicaragua aka Miss Universe

• Nicaragua’s Miss Universe emerges as symbol of defiance against Ortega regime

When Sheynnis Palacios was recently voted Miss Universe, it came as a bolt of good news in Nicaragua. Joyous crowds took to the streets of Managua for the first time since mass protests in 2018 that were put down with lethal force.

The Nicaraguan regime, paranoid about any hint of dissidence, initially congratulated Palacios, but has since cracked down on celebrations – not least because Palacios herself took part in the 2018 demonstrations, and opponents of the regime have taken her up as a symbol of hope and defiance.

Palacios, 23, became the first Miss Universe from Central America at this year’s edition of the competition, held in El Salvador on 18 November.

“It came as a surprise, and triggered spontaneous expressions of delight in the country,” said Elvira Cuadra, a Nicaraguan sociologist who lives in exile in Costa Rica.

Palacios comes from a low-income family who sold fried dough balls known as buñuelos to put her through university, and her story seemed to resonate with many Nicaraguans.

So too did her participation in the 2018 protests, which became common knowledge after photos of her from that time went viral before the Miss Universe competition.

Those protests sought to topple President Daniel Ortega, a 78-year-old former revolutionary hero who helped end the brutal four-decade Somoza dictatorship but has since turned Nicaragua into an authoritarian state during his latest stint as president, starting in 2007.

The protests lasted three months before being crushed, with more than 320 killed.

Some Nicaraguans watching the Miss Universe ceremony saw Palacios’s outfit, with her white dress and blue cape, as a reference to the national flag that was banned after 2018.

Palacios herself said nothing overtly political during the ceremony. She cited the 18th-century British feminist Mary Wollstonecraft as an inspiration before dedicating her crown to “the girls of the world, the girl inside me … and the more than 6 million people of my country”.

Her victory prompted a rare outpouring of joy in a country which in recent years has seen little to cheer about.

“Since 2018, Nicaragua has lived in a police state,” said Cuadra. “Lately they haven’t even allowed religious gatherings. But when Sheynnis won, people took to the streets with their national flags, singing the national anthem.”

The regime appeared unsure how to deal with Palacios and the excitement around her victory.

In the buildup to the competition, official media heaped scorn on her. One presenter said she was better suited to be “Miss Buñuelos”.

When Palacios won, the government released a message congratulating her – only without the customary signature of either Ortega or Rosario Murillo, his wife and vice-president.

But Murillo then put out a broadcast ranting about “coup plotters” who were planning “manufactured provocations” under the pretext of celebrating Miss Universe.

Meanwhile, the regime detained a TikToker who defended Palacios against official criticism, and forced two artists to paint over a mural they had begun in her honour in the city of Estelí.

Whether Palacios will be allowed to return to Nicaragua is unclear, given that the regime has banned the director of the Miss Nicaragua franchise, Karen Celebertti, who also travelled to El Salvador, from coming back.

Celebertti’s husband and son were also reported to have disappeared on Monday.

“The government has shown itself nervous,” said Juan Pappier, the Americas deputy director at Human Rights Watch. “Not out of weakness, but rather paranoia. They are afraid of anything that doesn’t fully align with them.”

Since the crushed revolt of 2018, Nicaragua’s slide towards authoritarianism has accelerated.

“We have seen a total demolition of freedoms and liberties,” said Pappier. “More than 300 people have been stripped of their nationality. Half of the NGOs that existed have been shut down. And there are still more than 80 political prisoners behind bars.”

The Catholic church, which Ortega accused of promoting a coup d’état in 2018, has also been persecuted.

The Universidad Centroamericana, a Jesuit university attended by Palacios and described by the government as “a centre of terrorism”, was recently shut down.

Rolando Álvarez, the bishop of Matagalpa, who refused to be deported to the US along with 222 other political prisoners in February, has been sentenced to 26 years in prison.

“I don’t think there is something we can call civic or public life today in Nicaragua,” said Pappier. “The repression is absolute.”

Since 2018, at least 600,000 Nicaraguans have left the country, mostly to the United States and Costa Rica.

Earlier this month, Nicaragua completed its withdrawal from the Organisation of American States, having rejected criticism for numerous human rights violations.

“In terms of systematic repression and isolation from the international community, this is the North Korea of our continent,” said Pappier.

What's your point?

read the post above your last

• JKN sells 50% of Miss Universe shares to Legacy Holding Group USA

JKN Global Group Plc (JKN) has announced that it has sold 50% of its shares in Miss Universe to Legacy Holding Group USA for US$16 million, or slightly less than 572 billion baht.

The sale was approved by the JKN board of directors on Monday (January 23). The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of February 2024, Krungthep Thurakij Media reports.

JKN acquired the Miss Universe pageant in 2022 for US$20 million. The company had planned to use the pageant to expand its global media business.

However, JKN filed for bankruptcy in November last year after being unable to meet a repayment deadline of approximately US$12 million, due on September 1 of the preceding year.

The sale of the Miss Universe shares to Legacy Holding Group USA will help JKN to repay its debts and restructure its business.

Legacy Holding Group USA is a privately held company that owns a number of media and entertainment assets, including the Miss Universe pageant.

The sale of the Miss Universe shares to Legacy Holding Group USA marks the end of JKN's involvement with the pageant. It remains to be seen what Legacy Holding Group USA will do with the pageant in the future.

• Defamation lawsuit threat against former Miss Universe brand owner

A former president of the Miss Universe Organisation (MUO) has threatened a defamation lawsuit against the former owner of the Miss Universe brand, Anne Jakrajutatip, for allegedly implying that she was involved in corruption and took “under the table” payments to secure placements in the Miss Universe pageant.

Paula Shugart said in her Instagram post that, since her resignation from the MUO in November last year, she has sought to stay out of the spotlight and has refrained from commenting on any of the changes in the organisation.

She also said, however, that the recent accusation made by Anne has compelled her to break her silence and to consideraction to protect her reputation and credibility. She also said that the accusation, which implies that Miss Universe titles could be “bought”, has degraded the brand and all the title holders.

Shugart said she has no intention of engaging in a drama on social media and is now considering her legal options in Thailand to protect her name and to claim compensation.