Barclays Added To Del Monte Holders' Anti-Sale Suit -Bloomberg

Del Monte Foods Co. (DLM) shareholders have added Barclays Capital, the company's financial adviser, to a lawsuit aimed at blocking a $5.3 billion takeover led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Bloomberg News reported Tuesday.

The shareholders' law firm, Grant & Eisenhofer, told the Delaware Chancery Court of the move in a letter dated Feb. 18. San Francisco-based Del Monte also said it will seek buyout offers after a judge on the Delaware court ruled that the sale be delayed, according to Bloomberg's report.

The judge, Vice Chancellor Travis Laster, said in a Feb. 14 decision that Barclays, in pursuit of fees in its other role as the deal's financier, "secretly and selfishly manipulated the sale process."

Laster postponed a shareholder vote on the deal 20 days, to March 7, to give more time to consider the latest developments, but he didn't block the deal.

Barclays, a unit of Barclays PLC (BCS, BARC.LN), said in an emailed statement: "We look forward to the opportunity to set the record straight in court." Barclays noted that it wasn't named as a defendant when the judge made his ruling, "and as a result, has not had the opportunity to provide the court with all of the facts relating to its work for Del Monte or refute the plaintiffs' version of events."

Full story at http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-20/barclays-added-as-defendant-in-del-monte-shareholders-lawsuit.html

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