BASSETT, Va. - Bassett Furniture said that it has suspended payment of a second installment of a special $1.25 per share dividend to shareholders because of current business conditions.
Earlier this year the company paid 75 cents to shareholders - or about $22 million in capital - and said it would pay another 50 cents in October. But the company now says it will hold off on that payment “until there is more certainty regarding the timing of redemption of certain portions of the company’s investment portfolio and there is more stability in the overall retail home furnishings environment.”The company announced the special dividend in April when it was in the midst of a proxy fight with Costa Brava Partnership, which owns 5.1% of Bassett’s stock. The proxy contest was settled a few days before Bassett’s annual shareholder meeting when Costa Brava agreed to withdraw its slate of candidates for the board of directors and Bassett agreed to drop a lawsuit against Costa Brava.