NEW YORK A shareholder group led by Ramius Capital Group LLC trimmed its holdings in Luby’s Inc. of Houston from 7.5 percent of shares outstanding to 4.5 percent just weeks after the cafeteria chain operator won a proxy battle over board seats that Ramius had hoped to garner.
According to regulatory filings submitted late Wednesday, the activist shareholders now own about 1.3 million shares of Luby’s, the operator of 128 cafeterias. On Jan. 17, the shareholder group had held 2.1 million Luby’s shares, or about 7.5 percent of the stock.
Ramius, a New York hedge fund, had nominated four executives for Luby’s 10-member board after criticizing current directors for failing to build shareholder value. Ramius’ nominees had included veterans from the Wendy’s, Baja Fresh and Fuddruckers systems. The investment fund also accused Christopher Pappas, Luby’s chief executive, and Harris Pappas, chief operating officer, of having a conflict of interest stemming from the brothers’ other business, Pappas Restaurant Group. Luby’s shareholders voted on Jan. 15 to retain the current board members. The Pappas brothers are Luby’s two largest shareholders.
Luby’s shares fell 16 cents, or 1.7 percent, to $9.54 per share at Thursday’s close. The stock has traded between $8.80 and $11.83 during the past 52 weeks.
