Rattling the cages at Red Lobster’s parent company just got harder.
Darden Restaurants, which has announced a controversial plan to spin off Red Lobster this summer, has quietly amended its corporate bylaws to thwart potential retaliation by aggrieved shareholders.
In a securities filing late Monday, Darden imposed a slew of strict and new requirements for investors looking to unseat board members at the company’s annual meeting.
In addition to tighter deadlines for notifying Darden in advance of board nominations, shareholders now face elaborate requirements for disclosing their holdings, including whether derivatives were used in acquiring their stakes, and if so what kind.
“It’s like a full body-cavity search,” one miffed investor told The Post.
Such rules are “specifically intended to make it difficult and burdensome for shareholders to nominate directors,” says Marc Weingarten, a partner at law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel.
In addition, Darden gave itself room to delay its annual meeting, which previously had been required to be held in September or October.
Darden didn’t respond to a request for comment.