OSI Restaurant Partners

Tampa Bay, FL: (Jul-10-07) Several shareholders lawsuits were filed against OSI Restaurant Partners, the Tampa parent of Outback Steakhouse and seven other chains, over its recent acquisition. OSI Restaurant Partners were accused of improperly pressuring board members to support the deal. The lawsuits claimed it misled shareholders in order to win their support. The firm's three cofounders stood to gain a total of $325 million on the deal, which shareholders narrowly approved in June 2007 after three prior rejections. OSI and acquirers Bain Capital Partners and Catterton Management unveiled the tentative agreement in November 2006. A suit was filed three days later in Hillsborough County court to block it, arguing that OSI's directors had breached their fiduciary duty to shareholders. A similar suit was filed in Delaware in January 2007 by a different firm.

In a settlement reached OSI agreed to pay opposing lawyers nearly $5 million to end the shareholder lawsuits. OSI said it decided to settle the lawsuits anyway so that it could move on and shareholders could obtain the benefits of the $41.15 per share deal. [ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: OSI SHAREHOLDERS]

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Published on Jul-10-07