GM Shareholders Reject Proposal to Divide Shares Into Two Classes
June 06 2017 - 11:12AM
Dow Jones News
By Mike Colias
General Motors Co. shareholders delivered a vote of confidence
for Chief Executive Mary Barra Tuesday, shooting down hedge-fund
manager David Einhorn's proposal to split the company's stock into
two classes.
Preliminary voting results indicate overwhelming rejection of a
plan first floated in March by Mr. Einhorn's Greenlight Capital
Inc., which included a class of stock that pays dividends and a
second that paid all additional earnings to growth investors.
Shareholders also voted down Mr. Einhorn's slate of three proposed
directors, instead opting to re-elect GM's 11 incumbent directors
that the U.S. auto giant proposed.
The outcome is a win for Ms. Barra and GM's directors amid
mounting pressure on Detroit auto makers to respond to a growing
threat from tech companies developing electric cars and
self-driving vehicles. Ms. Barra, who is chairman in addition to
CEO, lead a boardroom fight against the dual-class idea, claiming
it amounted to financial engineering that would have hampered the
company's ability to manage cyclical downturns and invest in future
technologies.
Greenlight officials could not immediately be reached. More than
90% of GM shareholder votes cast rejected Greenlight's plan.
The shareholder vote comes just weeks after Ford Motor Co.
ousted its chief executive, Mark Fields. Like Ms. Barra, Mr. Fields
took over in 2014 after a career climbing the ranks in various
management positions. He was replaced by Jim Hackett, an industry
outsider who had served on Ford's board.
Still, GM could remain susceptible to future activist moves if
Ms. Barra can't lift the share price. GM shares are stuck at the
$33 initial public offering price from 2010 and the stock is among
the cheapest in the S&P 500 on a price-to-earnings-ratio
basis.
Shares of GM traded down modestly Tuesday morning at $34.27.
GM's market valuation of $51.8 billion trails Tesla Inc.'s $57.6
billion valuation, an indication that Wall Street prizes future
growth opportunities over near-term profit.
GM has delivered several years of strong profits under Ms.
Barra. But auto sales are slowing in the U.S. and China, the
company's two primary markets.
Ms. Barra told reporters ahead of the meeting that she believes
GM shares are undervalued and she continues to explore ways to
"unlock that value." But she also defended GM's record, which
includes share buybacks and dividends, and big bets on future
growth areas where Tesla and other Silicon Valley companies are
seen as having a potential edge.
"We do believe that GM's stock is undervalued and we are taking
decisive action to address this," she said.
Tesla faces its own proxy battle Tuesday, with certain
shareholders pushing to have directors elected yearly rather than
on three-year terms. The proposal is seen as a way to increase
accountability.
Write to Mike Colias at Mike.Colias@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 06, 2017 10:57 ET (14:57 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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