Pre-Paid Legal courted again, founder makes cameo

Three months after a leading private equity firm sought to acquire all of Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc.’s common stock for $60 per share in cash, another suitor has come calling for the provider of legal services through the worksite and individual markets to more than 1.5 million families across North America.

This time it’s Cerberus Capital Management LP, a private investment firm, which a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission says is in exclusive talks with the carrier’s largest shareholder to buy the company.

Fred Russell, principal of Fredric E. Russell Investment Management Co., recently was quoted as saying Pre-Paid Legal is “a company ripe for a takeover, especially for a leveraged buyout.”

Meanwhile, Pre-Paid Legal founder Harland Stonecipher recently made a cameo in a movie based on the novel “The Lamp” by author Jim Stovall. A premier of the film, which stars Academy Award winner Lou Gossett, Jr. and is slated for a limited theatrical release, reportedly would be held at the company he started.

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