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'Bad boy' pharma CEO offers $10 mn for Kanye's album

Martin Shkreli, former CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals LLC., smiles during a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, February 4, 2016

The "bad boy" pharmaceutical chief Martin Shkreli has offered Kanye West $10 million for the rights to the rap star's new album. In a letter posted on Twitter Thursday, with no apparent response from the music celebrity, Shkreli said he hoped West would "sell this recording solely to me." The letter posted within a tweet said West would "find this financial arrangement more attractive than your current course of action," but offered no elaboration. Shkreli, the controversial former pharmaceuticals boss and hedge fund manager indicted on securities fraud charges, said he has been "a tremendous fan" of West for years. He added in a follow-up tweet that "Kanye and his label are legally required to take my offer letter to their Board of Directors." And in another tweet, he said, "The point is NOT to keep music from people, it's to remind everyone how important and central it is in our lives." West unveiled tracks from the album, "The Life of Pablo," at a massive event on Thursday at New York's Madison Square Garden. It was to be formally released Friday, according to a tweet from West, who said he added some songs. Shkreli, who resigned last year as head of Turing Pharmaceuticals and was fired from another pharma group, rose to infamy after buying the rights to toxoplasmosis drug Daraprim and promptly raised the price from $13.50 a tablet to $750. He is accused of lying to investors, moving money between investments to cover losses in other vehicles and siphoning off cash for personal expenses. He previously bought the sole copy of an album from New York rap group Wu-Tang Clan.