INDIANAPOLIS Activist investor Sardar Biglari said Friday afternoon that preliminary results indicated that Steak n Shake shareholders had "overwhelmingly" elected him and a colleague to the board of the family-dining chain.
Steak n Shake reportedly has said official results won't be released until next week.
Steak n Shake shareholders gathered here today for their annual meeting and to vote on all nine members of the board.
"The votes represent a landslide victory for The Steak n Shake Company's shareholders," Biglari said in a statement Friday. "We are grateful for the support of our fellow shareholders and look forward to working collaboratively with the other members of the board to improve accountability and financial results."
Biglari, whose Lion Fund holds about 8.5 percent of Steak n Shake shares, has been seeking seats on the chain's board for himself and Lion Fund colleague Philip Cooley. Biglari has been pressing for changes at company for months and has urged shareholders to evict from the board chairman and interim CEO Alan Gilman and director James Williamson Jr.
Biglari has criticized Steak n Shake's management for failing to turn around slumping sales and deliver returns to shareholders. His strategy for the chain includes a halt to corporate-store development, more aggressive franchising and a reduction in corporate costs.
Officials of Steak n Shake, which said last month that it would not consider a sale of the company, have defended the chain's strategic direction. In a letter to shareholders, they called Biglari's overtures "a poorly disguised effort to gain control of the Steak n Shake."
"In short, Mr. Biglari is, in our opinion, trying to take over your company without paying you anything in exchange," Steak n Shake's board said in the letter.
Biglari, who is also chairman of Western Sizzlin Corp., pointed out in a letter sent Thursday to shareholders that he and Lion Fund colleague Philip Cooley have the support of three proxy advisory firms in their bid for seats on Steak n Shake's board.
Steak n Shake's results for 2007 included a 58-percent drop in net income to $11.8 million, a 2.4-percent increase in revenues to $654 million and a same-store sales decrease of 3.8-percent.
The Indianapolis-based chain operates or franchises about 490 restaurants.