Bristow-Era Helicopter Merger Draws Appraisal Challenge (1)

A hedge fund involuntarily bought out of its stake in Bristow Group Inc. when the helicopter fleet operator merged with rival Era Inc. has challenged the deal price in a petition asking Delaware’s Chancery Court to appraise the fair value of its shares.

The short filing by Funicular Fund LP doesn’t include specific allegations of wrongdoing. It comes about a month after Funicular dropped an earlier lawsuit seeking company records to probe the all-stock merger.

The June deal, which technically made Bristow a subsidiary of Era and then renamed the combined company Bristow, valued the original Bristow at $876 ...