Five suits challenging Shaw Group sale consolidated

On Monday 19th Judicial District Court Judge Wilson Fields consolidated five class action lawsuits brought by shareholders of The Shaw Group seeking to stop the pending sale of Shaw to CB&I for approximately $3 billion. A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5 to appoint lead counsel for the consolidated suit, according to one of the attorneys involved. The Baton Rouge-based Fortune 500 company announced on July 30 that it had agreed to a deal to be acquired by CB&I, formerly Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., in a cash and stock deal. The deal calls for CB&I to pay $41 in cash and $5 worth of CB&I stock for each share of Shaw. The $46 per share [cash and stock] price “was arrived at via an unfair process for an unfair price, all in violation of the [Shaw board of directors’] fiduciary duties to Shaw’s public shareholders,” according to one of the five consolidated suits. Shaw says the deal offers an attractive 72% premium, as compared to where the stock was trading the day before the deal was announced, and creates value for shareholders. —David Jacobs