 However, it was not disclosed to shareholders that Norm Ream, who resigned from The 13th around the same time, was named as part owner and treasurer of the new venture, an apparent conflict of interest given his involvement shortly before as president and director in The 13th's buyout of MLK.Former MLK employee Jimmy Mortensen was named as a third partner.Complicating the matter was the fact that MLK had only two years remaining to its eligibility in the 8(a) program, which would presumably lower its value, throwing into question its valuation at $4.4 million at the time Kennedy was paid $2.2 million to buy out his shares.