A group former Sculptor Capital Management executives led by founder Dan Och has sued the hedge fund and its proposed acquirer Rithm Capital Corp, saying that the $676m is aimed at protecting current CEO Jimmy Levin rather than maximising shareholder value, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites a statement by Och, who left the New York-based firm in 2019, as revealing that he wants a Delaware judge to halt the buyout until a rival group led by Saba Capital Management’s Boaz Weinstein is able to present its higher bid to shareholders.

Sculptor last week accepted a revised bid from Rithm, which still falls someway short of the $13-a-share offer from Weinstein’s group, which includes billionaires Jeff Yass, Marc Lasry and Bill Ackman.

In the statement Och said that Sculptor directors backing Levin have made it clear that “they favor only one result — the preservation of management’s jobs and compensation, at the expense of shareholder value”.

The special board committee handling the sale has responded by saying the accusations are “baseless,” and has vowed to fight the law suit.