Peter Karmanos Jr., the founder of Compuware and former CEO, who had a falling out with the company, has filed a shareholder lawsuit, alleging fraud and blackmail were involved in the company's decision last year to sell itself to private equity firm Thoma Bravo for $2.4 billion, or $10.92 per share, the Detroit Free Press reports.
JC Reindl of the Freep reports that the lawsuit, filed last week in Wayne County Circuit Court, claims the price was unfair and too low.
The Freep reports:
Peter Karmanos personally received more than $52.5 million from his Compuware shares -- not including an additional $16.5 million that he was awarded earlier this year by an arbitrator after Karmanos sued the company for firing him as a consultant and for canceling his remaining stock options. The company is still appealing the $16.5 million award.
Compuware's board voted to fire Karmanos for cause in response to profane comments he made regarding board members and the company's largest shareholder, an activist New York hedge fund called Elliott Management that had sought a sale. Karmanos retired from day-to-day work at Compuware in March 2013.
The Freep reports that the lawsuit claims the company's largest shareholder -- activist hedge fund Elliott Management -- "engaged in blackmail, and the other defendants succumbed to the blackmail instead of reporting it to the relevant authorities."
Karmanos is a minority owner in Deadline Detroit.
