Steak n Shake bids for Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp

INDIANAPOLIS_The Steak n Shake Co., which owns and franchises casual dining restaurants, announced Monday that it made an unsolicited bid to buy all the outstanding shares of insurance company Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp Inc.

It said it would pay $24.50 per share, half in cash and half in Steak n Shake stock. Steak n Shake said the offer represents an 11.3 percent premium to Fremont's Monday closing price. Fremont's shares trade over the counter.

A spokesman for Fremont, an insurance company, said Tuesday that its board would meet to discuss the unsolicited bid and to prepare a response.

Steak n Shake has reorganized into a holding company to seek acquisitions in other industries to diversify its interests, board Chairman Sardar Biglari has told shareholders.

On Tuesday afternoon, a day after the announcement, Steak n Shake shares jumped $33.32, or 11 percent, to $326.32.

Fremont Michigan InsuraCorp, based in St. Fremont, Mich., sells property and casualty insurance to individuals, farms and small businesses.

Steak n Shake is based in Indianapolis. It said in a Monday statement that it has filed for regulatory approval of the deal with Michigan state insurance regulators.