A group of shareholders has sued Darden Restaurants Inc, accusing the company of changing corporate bylaws to try to block investors' right to vote on a plan to sell or spin off its Red Lobster dining chain, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.The lawsuit comes as activist investors step up the pressure on Darden, which is struggling to reverse customer declines amid a broader slump in the casual-dining industry.Hedge fund and activist investor Starboard Value LP, which owns roughly 5.5 percent of Darden, has urged the company to reconsider its intention of unloading the struggling seafood chain and called for a special shareholder vote on the matter.Barington Capital Group LP, which represents a group of shareholders that hold more than 2 percent stake, wants the company to split itself in two, separating mature and struggling chains such as Red Lobster and Olive Garden from faster-growth restaurants.
Darden Restaurants, Inc. is a full service restaurant company. Shares of DRI fell by 1.96% or $-0.97/share to $48.46. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $44.78 and as high as $55.25. On average, 1407740 shares of DRI exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1367935.
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