High-End REIT in Lowdown Brawl

His biggest weapon -- now central to his attack -- began as a secret one. Sometime last fall, Boston-based General Investment and Development, or GID, came sniffing around the real estate company with plans to buy it out. Williams claims he was the only Post director who took the offer seriously. The rest, he says, sought to quietly pass an anti-takeover clause that would protect their jobs.

Williams angrily fought down the measure during a meeting in January. The victory would be among his last as chairman. The following month, Post yanked Williams' title and made him a regular member of the board. It also set out to formally block his involvement in the day-to-day operations of the company.

Williams came charging back, launching a legal battle before dropping it in favor of the current proxy fight. Meanwhile, Post went on to quietly confirm that it had received -- and rejected -- a formal buyout offer from GID in its regulatory filings. It also continued to chip away at its old leadership, shedding both its CFO and an executive vice president with little explanation to shareholders.

But the company sent neither executive away empty-handed. Like Williams himself -- who voluntarily stepped down as CEO eight months before he got booted as chairman -- both executives picked up seven-figure severance packages for going away.

"If their performance was so unsatisfactory, why did they receive generous severance packages?" Williams demanded of Post leaders. "Is this also fair to associates of Post, who have been forced to take a 2% cap on salary increases?"

But in the end, some say, Williams' words backfired.

The $6 Million Man

Until recently, Edward Lowenthal was best known as one of the most distinguished executives in the real estate world. These days, he's also called the "$6 million man."

He has Williams to thank for that starring role.

Accused of trying to regain control of his old company, Williams hunted down the most impressive outsider he could find. And he promised him plenty to become Post's next CEO.