Rap mogul Sean (Puffy) Combs has reached an out-of-court settlement with Steve Stoute, the record exec who claimed Combs beat him bloody in April, sources close to the negotiations tell the Daily News.
Combs will make no cash compensation to Stoute but has agreed to pay him producer and management fees of at least $500,000, according to the sources.
Combs still faces criminal charges in the alleged attack, but sources said he is trying to cut a deal with prosecutors to reduce the charge from a felony to a misdemeanor. Stoute has told authorities he does not wish to press charges.
The $500,000 figure would be a bargain for Combs, considering that Stoute reportedly demanded as much as $12 million after alleging that Combs and two bodyguards barged into his office and pummeled him with a chair, a telephone and a champagne bottle.
But one insider said Stoute’s long-term payout “could be much higher.
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Under the deal, say sources, Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment will pay Stoute both as a producer of albums and videos, and as a manager of artists who record on Puffy’s label.
“Puffy and Steve have made peace,” said the source, adding that they plan to sit together when the Knicks play the San Antonio Spurs in New York.
Combs’ attorney Jay Goldberg would only say: “I am confident the matter will work itself out.
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Spokesmen for Stoute and Combs were unavailable for comment.
