Former chairman of the SEC, Richard Breeden, is making a nice debut as a hedge fund manager. His fund, Breeden Partners, has been pursuing the beleaguered Applebee's International (NASDAQ: APPB).In other words, Breeden bought up some stock and launched a proxy fight.
Today, Applebee's has caved in and is bringing Breeden on as a board member, as well as attorney Laurence Harris. Breeden had been given four board seats.
No doubt, Applebee's was an easy target. The stock price had lagged for some time.
But with lots of private equity money sloshing around, it now looks like Applebee's may ultimately succumb to a buyout. The company has hired Citigroup (NYSE: C) to explore the alternatives.
Applebee's stock was up $0.94 to $26.77 on the news.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.
