In 2006, publicly traded Reynolds went private when it merged with Brockman’s Universal Computer Systems Inc. — a company he founded in 1970 in his living room — in a $2.8 billion deal.
Brockman, a publicity-shy businessman, has been a member of a number of education boards.
He formerly was on the board of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, is trustee emeritus of Rice University in Houston and was chairman of the board for Centre College in Danville, Ky., the small liberal arts school he attended.
That was the same institution where a $250 million donation — one of the largest for a U.S. college ever at the time — fell through in 2013.
The college said a deal involving the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust was to blame, Reuters reported. The donation was dependent on a Reynolds refinancing deal, which would have resulted in a payout to shareholders, including the Brockman trust, Reuters said, citing Moody’s Investors Service.
The Brockman Foundation, which has a mailing address in Bermuda, has supported education and medical research initiatives for more than 30 years. The foundation’s philanthropy efforts are funded by distributions from the trust established by Brockman’s father, A. Eugene Brockman. Bob Brockman is listed on the foundation’s website as a member of its scholarship advisory board.
The judgment and investigation were first reported by The Sydney Morning Herald of Australia.
