Settlement proposed concerning Pike Nurseries’ bankruptcy

Roark Capital Group would pay $3 million to the bankrupt former operator of Pike Nurseries, in a settlement aimed at putting to rest questions about whether Roark drained the company of capital after buying it in 2004, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

If approved, the settlement would not affect the current Pike Nurseries chain, whose 16 metro Atlanta stores are now owned by California-based Armstrong Garden Centers. But it would avoid a potentially lengthy and expensive legal battle over Roark's actions after the Atlanta private equity firm acquired what had been a family-run nursery chain founded in 1958.