DOVER, Del. (AP) — Two Texas public employee retirement funds have filed a shareholder lawsuit in Delaware challenging a deal in which Dole Food chairman and CEO David Murdock took the company private.
The proposed class action suit filed this week in federal court in Wilmington claims that Dole, Murdock and former company president C. Michael Carter misled investors about Dole's operations and finances so that Murdock could buy the fruit and vegetable business on the cheap.
Murdock bought Dole for about $1.6 billion, or $13.50 a share, in 2013.
In August, a Delaware state court judge ordered that Murdock and Carter pay $148 million in damages for misleading directors and shareholders in the deal.
A spokeswoman for Dole did not immediately return an email message seeking comment.