Puffy
Combs
has reached an out-of-court settlement with SteveStoute, the record executive who accused the rapper/producer and
two bodyguards of barging into his New York office April and beating
him with various objects (a champagne bottle, a chair and a telephone).
The
New York Daily News reports that Combs will pay Steve Stoute "producer
and management fees" amounting to $500,000! Stoute, a Universal
Records executive who has worked with Nas and Mary J. Blige, was
offered an out of court settlement for 2 million in cash, turned
THAT down, and said he wanted as much as $12 million shortly after
the alleged incident.
According
to the deal, Stoute will be in a long-term business alliance with
Combs, rather than paying him some dough to never hear from him
again. Stoute suffered a broken arm, broken jaw and cuts on his
face and head. "Puffy and Steve have made peace," an
unnamed source told the paper. The insider added that Combs and
Stoute planned to sit together at Madison Square Garden Monday
when the NBA Finals head back to New York.