Proxy Battle, as Seen on Route 9

Every activist shareholder has his own unique style. Daniel Loeb wreaks havoc on executives by skewering them in emails and public screeds. Carl Icahn stages press conferences and buys full-page advertisements in the Wall Street Journal to make his intentions known.

And then there's Sardar Biglari, a young hedge fund manager in San Antonio, TX.

Biglari leases billboard space.

Here's the latest from Biglari, a 30-year old Trinity University graduate who manages the Lion Fund with his business partner and Trinity professor, Philip Cooley.

A billboard along a highway in Indianapolis, Indiana, asks passersby and (hopefully) shareholders of the restaurant chain Steak N Shake to help him wage a proxy battle against its board. Biglari and his associates own 7 percent of the outstanding shares of the Indianapolis-based Steak N Shake, and they aren't pleased with the board's efforts to boost shareholder value. The ad points readers to his web site, which broadcasts his reasoning.

It may sound like a longshot, but it worked (sort of) once before. Biglari amassed more than 12 percent of Friendly's Ice Cream stock last year before pressuring the board for change and buying billboard space in Wilbraham, Mass., where it's headquartered. Earlier this year, Friendly's agreed to be sold for $15.50 per share, or double what Biglari paid for it.

Biglari became the chairman of Western Sizzlin' in 2006 after buying up 11 percent of its shares. He controls the restaurant chain's investments, which he uses to buy up shares of other embattled restaurant chains.

Someday, perhaps a Wall Street Journal ad is in Biglari's future. But for now, it's his way on the highway.

by Megan Barnett