O'Charley's remains committed to its board; shareholder to nominate a slate of four directors

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 21 - O'Charley's Inc. reiterated the experience and commitment of its board of directors on news that Crescendo Partners II LP plans to nominate a slate of four directors to O'Charley's nine-member board at its annual meeting.

"Our board has a broad range of experience, and is committed to continuing to act in the best long-term interests of our shareholders, as well as our employees, customers, business partners and communities," Gregory L. Burns, chairman and chief executive officer of O'Charley's, said in a news release.

"With the guidance of our board, during the past year we have taken a number of steps to enhance long-term shareholder value, including selling the commissary and outsourcing manufacturing and distribution; buying back approximately 8% of our shares outstanding; implementing the first quarterly dividend in our company's history; refining our re-branding initiatives and announcing their rollout in 2008; and continuing to strengthen our management team," Burns said.

O'Charley's said it had preliminary discussions with Crescendo, an 11% shareholder, and it is willing to continue the dialog.

Meanwhile Crescendo reported buying 243,000 shares of the company's stock between Dec. 5 and Dec. 12.

The shares were priced from $14.71 to $15.66 each, according to a schedule 13D filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The investors beneficially own some 2.36 million shares or 10.6% of the Nashville-based restaurant company.

Nashville-based O'Charley's is a multi-concept restaurant company that operates or franchises a total of 365 restaurants under three brands: O'Charley's, Ninety Nine Restaurant, and Stoney River Legendary Steaks.

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