The co-chairman emeritus and former CEO of Forest City Realty Trust Inc., Albert Ratner, filed suit against the diversified real estate investment trust to postpone the Nov. 15 special meeting of stockholders being held to vote on the company's proposed merger with Brookfield Asset Management Inc., demanding the company issue a revised proxy statement to the stockholders first.
The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, asks for a temporary restraining order, preliminary injunction and permanent injunction to delay any stockholder vote until 30 days after the company mails a new proxy statement.
Ratner has argued that the current proxy contains materially inaccurate information and omits material facts about the true value of the company.
In announcing the lawsuit, Ratner said the effective value of Brookfield's offer is not $25.35 per share as announced, or $24.99 per share as widely perceived, but "a paltry $23.09 per share," 50% less than the $46.03 per share that shareholders could receive over the next 25 months, in Ratner's estimation.
