STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETINGS – UNITED STATES

Perpetual backs in Murdochs at News

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 20-Nov-24

News Corporation will shortly hold its AGM in New York, where shareholders will vote on a proposal to abolish the media group’s dual-share structure. The existing share structure means that the Murdoch family controls 41 per cent of News Corp’s voting shares but just 14 per cent of the company’s stock overall. The push for a single class of shares is being led by hedge fund Starboard Value, but Perpetual’s head of equities Vince Pezzullo says the Australian fund manager will support the status quo at the AGM. Pezzullo says the Murdochs and News Corp’s management have made a number of strategic decisions over the last decade that have paid off, including the sale of 21st Century Fox’s entertainment assets at the peak of the market.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS

ExxonMobil shareholders rebel on climate costs

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Steven Mufson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 2-Jun-17

ExxonMobil shareholders have voted in favour of a motion that requires the oil and gas company to disclose the impact that measures aimed at addressing climate change are having on its business model. Thomas Napoli, of the New York Common Retirement Fund, which co-sponsored the motion, says that climate change is one of the biggest "long-term risks" to investments within its portfolio. BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors are both understood to have voted in favour of the motion. Originally published in "The Washington Post".

CORPORATES
EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, NEW YORK COMMON RETIREMENT FUND, BLACKROCK INCORPORATED, STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS INCORPORATED, THE VANGUARD GROUP INCORPORATED, BP PLC, TOTAL SA, CONOCOPHILLIPS, ROYAL DUTCH SHELL PLC

InterOil AGM voting stirs deal worries

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Angela Macdonald-Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 16-Jun-16

InterOil’s former CEO Phil Mulacek has failed in his bid for a board spill, although he received a high level of support at the takeover target’s 2016 AGM. Some 31 per cent of votes cast backed his stance, and Oil Search’s $US2.2bn takeover bid will fail if 33 per cent of InterOil shareholders vote against it on 28 July. Oil Search CEO Peter Botten intends to hold further meetings with InterOil’s shareholders in the lead-up to the vote.

CORPORATES
OIL SEARCH LIMITED – ASX OSH, INTEROIL CORPORATION, TOTAL SA, CAPITAL GROUP COMPANIES INCORPORATED, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION

News Corp faces shareholder revolt after 2015 near miss

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 9-May-16

The Nathan Cummings Foundation is expected to use News Corporation’s 2016 AGM to renew its push for the media giant to abolish its dual-class share structure. Some 49.5 per cent of votes cast at the 2015 AGM supported a resolution to scrap the distinction between News Corporation’s voting and non-voting shares. The Murdoch family owns 39.4 per cent of the voting stock.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, NATHAN CUMMINGS FOUNDATION, HERMES EQUITY OWNERSHIP SERVICES LIMITED, MURDOCH FAMILY TRUST, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Murdoch’s great escape

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 21-Oct-15

News Corporation’s non-voting A shares have traditionally traded higher than the B shares, which have voting rights. However, the latter traded at a 1.2 per cent premium in New York on 20 October 2015. Some 49.5 per cent of votes cast at the media group’s 2015 AGM were in favour of abolishing the dual-class share structure. The resolution was defeated by less than 900,000 shares. Scrapping the non-voting shares would have reduced the Murdoch family’s voting stake to 13.5 per cent.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, 21ST CENTURY FOX INCORPORATED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, NATIONAL RUGBY LEAGUE, SOUTH EASTERN ASSET MANAGEMENT

Murdochs win dual-class vote

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 22 : 16-Oct-15

News Corporation shareholders have rejected a resolution to abolish its dual-class share structure at the US-based media group’s 2015 AGM in New York. Executive chairman Rupert Murdoch told the AGM that News Corp has become more profitable with a greater focus on digital media since its 2013 demerger. The group has made a number of acquisitions globally since the demerger, while it has sold a number of assets.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, AMPLIFY PTY LTD, UNRULY, VIACOM INCORPORATED, CBS CORPORATION, COMCAST CORPORATION, CABLEVISION SYSTEMS CORPORATION, THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY, SCRIPPS NETWORKS INCORPORATED, LIBERTY MEDIA CORPORATION, UNITED STATES. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Murdoch to face shareholder revolt

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Max Mason
The Age – Page: 40 : 14-Oct-15

News Corporation’s share structure will again come under scrutiny at the media giant’s 2015 AGM in New York. However, any resolution to abolish the dual-class structure faces a significant hurdle, as the Murdoch Family Trust holds 38.4 per cent of Class B shares, which have voting rights. Some 47.4 per cent of votes cast at the 2014 AGM were in favour of scrapping the distinction between Class B and non-voting Class A shares.

CORPORATES
NEWS CORPORATION – ASX NWS, MURDOCH FAMILY TRUST, SOUTHEASTERN ASSET MANAGEMENT INCORPORATED, NATHAN CUMMINGS FOUNDATION, LEGAL AND GENERAL ASSURANCE SOCIETY LIMITED, HERMES EQUITY OWNERSHIP SERVICES LIMITED, FOXTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AMPLIFY PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG