Friendly Battle Turns Ugly

The battle for Friendly Ice Cream Corp. will be anything but a friendly one.

San Antonio, Texas, hedge fund manager Sardar Biglari has rejected the Wilbraham, Mass.-based restaurant chain’s offer of a pair of seats on its board. In response, Friendly has gone on the offensive. “We gave Mr. Biglari what he asked for. Now he wants more,” Friendly Chairman Donald Smith said. “It appears that he isn’t interested in just a voice on the board—he wants to control the board.”