SEATTLE (CN) - Shareholders challenge the sale of Safeco Corp. to Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., in King County Court. They claim the May 23 proxy statement filed with the SEC concealed information.
Shareholders object to the $23.5 million payout to Safeco CEO Paula Rosput Reynolds, and payments to other directors, under the proposed merger. They claim the enormous payout to Reynolds spurred her interest in the buyout, for about $68.25 per share, or $6.2 billion. And they claim that though Safeco is trading in the high $40s and low $50s, the $68.25 per share offer is an inadequate 1% premium over the shares' high trading price in the preceding 52 weeks.
Plaintiffs are represented by Clifford Cantor of Sammamish, and The Brualdi Law Firm of New York, N.Y.
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