The Arbitrage Fund on Tuesday filed a petition in the Delaware Court of Chancery seeking appraisal of its stake in Bob Evans Farms Inc., the latest lawsuit to stem from the food producer's $1.5 billion merger with Post Holdings Inc.

In its petition, the Water Island Capital-backed equity mutual fund asked the Delaware court to determine the fair value of nearly 768,000 shares it says it held in Bob Evans when the deal closed Jan. 12.

Post's acquisition of Bob Evans valued the company's shares at $77 apiece.

Arbitrage Fund's appraisal action comes on the heels of an investor suit earlier this month seeking access to corporate documents to investigate potential wrongdoing in connection with the sale. In that case, Tanya E. Knight told the Chancery Court that she suspected Bob Evans' brass had folded to pressure from an activist, who had pushed for the company to be broken up and sold.

“It also appears to have been driven by the self-interests of the company's officers and directors, who stood to gain significantly more from selling the company (particularly in the manner and to the party they did) than they would have by continuing to operate the company on a standalone basis,” Knight's attorneys said in a Jan. 8 complaint.

Another investor had levied similar allegations against the Bob Evans' board in a federal securities suit last October. That case was later settled after Bob Evans agreed to provide additional disclosures related to the deal.

According to a Jan. 10 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, more than 91 percent of Bob Evans' shares voted at a special shareholder meeting were cast in favor of the merger. Under Delaware law, only dissenting investors can exercise appraisal rights.

Arbitrage Fund will likely seek additional compensation by arguing that the deal price undervalued their shares. However, it may face an uphill climb, after recent Delaware Supreme Court decisions indicated a clear preference for deal price as the best indicator of fair value in cases that involve a robust and competitive sale process.

The fund is also seeking statutory interest and costs associated with litigating its action, including an award of fees for expert witnesses and attorneys.

Arbitrage Fund listed Jessica Zeldin of Rosenthal, Monhait & Goddess as an attorney in the case. Attorneys for Bob Evans were not yet listed by an online docket-tracking service.

Bob Evans and Post did not immediately respond to calls requesting comment on the suit.

The case is captioned Arbitrage Fund v. Bob Evans Farms.