TAMPA A shareholder has sued OSI Restaurant Partners Inc. over the Outback Steakhouse parent’s pending $3.2-billion management-led buyout, alleging that the $40-a-share offer is “grossly unfair,” the Miami Herald reported Friday morning.
The stakeholder, Robert Mann, demanded that the company secure higher proceeds for shareholders by auctioning itself off.
When OSI’s buyout was first announced, the company noted that it would spend 50 days soliciting alternative offers. The results of that effort were not disclosed, but the management-led deal moved forward, suggesting that no party had topped the $3.2-billion offer. The deal is still subject to shareholder approval.
The buying group includes Outback co-founders Chris Sullivan, Bob Basham and Tim Gannon. About $853 million will be provided by the private-equity company Bain Capital Partners LLC, and $150 million is being contributed by the private-equity investor Catterton Management Co. LLC.
Mann’s suit was filed in Chancery Court in Wilmington, Del. OSI told the Herald that it does not comment on pending litigation.
OSI’s portfolio of casual-dining concepts comprise about 1,400 restaurants, most of which are operated by the company. In addition to Outback, its holdings include Carabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Cheeseburger in Paradise and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Roy’s. It is based here.