Sun Capital may seek presence on Furniture Brands board

A major shareholder in Furniture Brands International Inc. is pressuring the Clayton-based company to provide a complete list of shareholders. For SCSF Equities LLC, a subsidiary of  Boca Raton, Fl.-based private equity group Sun Capital Partners, the goal may be to win a presence on the company’s board.

Sun Capital plans to solicit proxies related to the election of Furniture Brands directors, according to a letter filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Board members are scheduled to be named at Furniture Brands’ May 1 shareholders meeting.

Sun Capital owns approximately 4.58 million Furniture Brands shares, or 9.45 percent of the company, making it the second-largest shareholder. Five weeks ago, the private investment group informed Furniture Brands that it was interested in taking over the furniture seller, which lost money last year and has seen profit margins steadly shrink.

But Furniture Brands  — the parent of Lane, Broyhill and Thomasville – noted there was no offer price and rebuffed the proposal.

The company’s shares closed Friday at $11.28, down 16 cents or 1.4 percent. Furniture Brands stock is down 26.5 percent from the same day last year.