They are entitled to $27.25 for each Deb Shops' share, which, at the time the agreement was announced, represented a premium of 2.1% over the trading price of the company's common stock in July. With the close of the sale on Oct. 24, shares of the teen-apparel retail firm ceased trading on the Nasdaq. Just prior to the delisting, the stock was trading at $27.23 a share.

Vienna, VA-based Proxy Governance Inc., an independent proxy advisory firm, had advised shareholders to reject the proposed takeover. "Based on the recent trading history and the available equity analyst opinion," Proxy Governance said in a July report, "it is not clear that the company's performance justifies such a small premium." The report also suggested that the retailer's board "should have provided far closer oversight of the (sale negotiation) process."

Under the terms of the agreement, Allen Questrom, a Lee Equity senior advisor who is credited with the turnaround of JC Penney, will serve as non-executive chair of Deb Shops. According to a statement by the retailer, he will "provide significant strategic direction and leadership to the company's current senior management team."