There was supposed to be a bidding war for Alltel. There wasn't. And now, shareholder Lon Engel is suing.

Alltel got nabbed by a consortium of private equity firms led by the Texas Pacific Group and a unit of Goldman Sachs for $27.5 billion. Now, all those other firms who had coupled up in preparation for a bidding war are left out in the cold: Blackstone Group/Providence Equity Partners, and Carlyle Group/Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. They aren't happy, claiming the deadline wasn't until June.

A South Carolina-based shareholder of Alltel is also not pleased. He filed a lawsuit that he hopes to be a class action lawsuit against Alltel's chairman Scott T. Ford, along with some of the company's past and present directors. The lawsuit says the current price is "grossly unfair and far below the maximum value [of Alltel]." With the lawsuit, Engel aims to stop the buyout, which he says is "wrong, unfair and harmful" to shareholders.

Alltel, of course, does not agree.

Andrew Moreau, a spokesman for the company, said the deal is "exceptionally fair." He went on to say that the lawsuit is meritless and "only speculate(s) about the events of the last few weeks, and the speculation offered by the plaintiff's attorneys is not factual."

An Alltel Corp. stockholder has sued the wireless provider, claiming the company's proposed $24.7 billion buyout is "grossly unfair and far below the maximum value."

The lawsuit, which requests class-action status, was filed Monday in Chancery Court in Wilmington, Del., by Lon Engel of South Carolina. Engel's suit names the company, Chief Executive Scott T. Ford and other past directors of Alltel as defendants.

(Continue reading this story on Daily Report)

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