It's been a little over two weeks since Ark Restaurants (ARKR -2.64%) rejected an unsolicited takeover bid it received from restaurant chain owner Landry's, which offered to buy Ark out for $22 a share on February 8. This morning, Landry's announced its latest appeal to Ark's better angels, publishing the contents of a letter it sent to Ark management yesterday:
"Writing in response to the press release issued by Ark Restaurants," Landry's criticized Ark's "curt and uninformative" statement that had called its bid "inadequate, not compelling and not in the best interests of Ark Restaurants shareholders."
To the contrary, Landry's asserted, its bid of $22 is "extremely attractive," and offers "a significant premium" to Ark shareholders, given that current management has brought the company to a 4.6% decrease in same-store sales in the most recent quarter, along with "substantial losses." In Landry's view, Ark's board members are more interested in preserving their own jobs than in serving shareholder interests, and Landry's urges Ark's board to reconsider its rejection, and enter into a "negotiated transaction" for sale to Landry's.
At present, Ark shares sell for $20.80 apiece, or about 5.5% below Landry's offer price, but up about 0.3% from where the shares closed Thursday.
