LUCKY STORES <LKS>, EDELMAN IN STANDSTILL PACT Lucky Stores Inc said it and investor Asher Edelman agreed on a settlement that prohibits Edelman and his group from taking specified actions to obtain control of the company and that limits the Edelman group's ownership of Lucky's stock to less than five pct of any voting securities. The arrangement also provides for the dismissal of pending litigation between the parties, Lucky Stores said. The settlement also calls for the withdrawal of Edelman's motion to intervene in pending shareholder actions against Lucky Stores and its directors, the company said. In addition, the standstill provisions also apply to Hancock Fabrics after it is spun off to Lucky stockholders, the company said. Lucky Stores said the arrangement also calls for the company to submit to stockholders at a special meeting set for December 31 a proposal from Edelman seeking their views concerning repeal of a charter provision that limits the voting power of substantial Lucky stockholders. Edelman, who owns about five pct of Lucky Stores' stock, last year was rebuffed in his effort to acquire the company. Last October Lucky Stores implimented a restructuring program that included the repurchase of 28 pct of its own common shares and reincorporation in Delaware. The spinoff of Hancock Textile Co, a chain of 324 retail stores, was one of the key parts of the restructuring program. Edelman and his Plaza Securities Co partnership subsequently sued in an attempt to block the proposed reincorporation, which was a condition of the repurchase and restructuring plan. Under this latest arrangement, Lucky Stores said it agreed to reimburse the Edelman group for 2.8 mln dlrs of out-of-pocket expenses, which include litigation and other costs. "This agreement serves the interests of Lucky stockholders by avoiding the significant cost of continued litigation and the accompanying demands on management time," Lucky Stores chairman John Lillie said in a statement.