Furniture Brands again urges rejection of Sun Capital bid

Furniture Brands International on Friday again urged shareholders to support its own directors and reject those nominated by a private-investment firm seeking greater control of the board.

In a shareholder letter made public in a press release, Furniture Brands reiterated concerns raised last week about an effort by Sun Capital Securities Group Inc. to install three members to Furniture Brands' board.

The company said it has conditionally offered Sun Capital, which holds about a 9.5 percent stake in Furniture Brands, a single board seat.

"We believe that it is not in the best interest of all shareholders to allow Sun Capital's designees to gain access to our proprietary business information that could be of benefit to our direct competitors," Furniture Brands said in the letter.

In February, Furniture Brands rejected a takeover offer from Sun Capital, and later disclosed that the firm had offered to pay between $13 and $15 per share.

Furniture Brands' annual meeting is scheduled for May 1.

Shares of Furniture Brands rose 12 cents to close at $14.