J. Alexander’s Investors Want More Negotiations Before Finalizing Sale

A stockholder’s group wants the J. Alexander’s board of directors to take more time with efforts to sell the Nashville-based restaurant chain.

Earlier this week, the board filed papers recommending stockholders approve a sale to Fidelity National, thetitle insurance company that recently bought another Nashville chain, O’Charley’s. But the filings also acknowledged that two other bids from as-yet-unnamed companies were for more money. The board expressed a lack of confidence that those deals could be finalized.

That argument doesn’t hold water for the Privet Fund, which holds a roughly 10 percent share in J. Alexander’s. In a letter, the group says the other potential buyers, known as Party G and Party F, are credible, and accuses the company’s leadership of making poor decisions throughout the process of trying to sell. The letter calls on the board to reopen all negotiations, saying, “we urge you to not be influenced by past errors. Take control of the process.”