Shareholder Objects to CKE Restaurants Take-Private Plan

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Porter Orlin, a New York-based investment manager, said on Tuesday it wrote a letter to CKE Restaurants’ (CKR.N) board and management, expressing strong dissatisfaction with private equity firm THL Partners’ [THL.UL] plan to take the company private.

Porter Orlin, which holds almost 2.3 million shares in CKE, said in the letter that the $11.05 a share offer substantially undervalues the business.

The investment manager also said the timeframe for considering opposing bids was too short. “We urge the board to extend the period for consideration of competing bids,” fund managers Paul Orlin and Alex Porter wrote in the letter.

Under the $619 million deal agreement with THL, CKE had 40 days to seek superior offers and that “go shop” provision expires on Tuesday.

CKE, which owns the Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr hamburger chains, has suffered as the high U.S. unemployment rate has prompted consumers to look to save money and eat at home more often.

Shares in the company closed at $11.08, down 2 cents. (Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by Carol Bishopric)