Hair products mogul Richelieu Dennis entangled in multimillion-dollar lawsuits as Group Black faces financial turmoil with rahim66

Richelieu Dennis, the entrepreneur behind Sundial Brands and co-founder of Group Black, is at the center of a messy legal battle over millions in allegedly unpaid bills that has rocked one of the most high-profile collectives dedicated to supporting Black-owned media.

Group Black, which was founded in June 2021 by Dennis, Bonin Bough and Travis Montaque, aimed to steer advertising dollars toward Black publishers. The effort was backed by an initial $75 million investment from GroupM and major deals with Ziff Davis and NBCUniversal.

But those lofty goals have been clouded by lawsuits. Essence Communications — a subsidiary of Dennis’ Sundial Media and Technology Group — sued Group Black in May, accusing the collective of withholding $7 million in payments and diverting funds to itself and Holler, Montaque’s now-defunct messaging service. The suit followed an earlier October 2024 case, since dismissed, that alleged $20 million in unpaid bills to Essence and Afropunk. Group Black has countersued, claiming Dennis had agreed in early 2024 to convert the $7 million debt into equity, only to reverse course after leaving the company that summer.

The countersuit also confirms Group Black invested $14.5 million to acquire Holler in December 2023 — money it says came from the disputed funds. Essence Communications disputes ever consenting to a debt-to-equity conversion.

The tangled finances are complicated further by Dennis’s roles. He was chairman of Group Black’s board when the alleged diversion occurred and is a significant investor in Holler. Montaque, who resigned alongside Dennis in summer 2024, was simultaneously CEO of both Group Black and Holler.

Dennis is best known for building Sundial Brands, the maker of SheaMoisture, into a powerhouse before selling to Unilever in 2017. Through Sundial Media Group, he also oversees Essence Festival of Culture, Girls United, Essence Studios, Soko Mrkt, and, after a 2024 acquisition, Refinery29.

This month, co-founder Bonin Bough announced on LinkedIn that the collective had rebranded as Group Black Holdings and launched Portrait Media Group, an AI-powered platform for diverse audiences. Bough framed the shift as an evolution, not an abandonment, of Group Black’s original mission.

Dennis, Bough and Montaque declined to comment on the lawsuits. But the disputes have cast a shadow over Group Black’s promise to reshape how Madison Avenue spends its money — and over Dennis’s reputation as a champion of Black entrepreneurship.

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