GE suffers activist shareholder revolt

Shareholders in General Electric have come close to winning a vote that would have given them more direct control over the largest US industrial group by market capitalisation against the wishes of its board.

The vote at GE reflects a broader trend in corporate governance , as shareholder activists focus on issues such as shareholder access to the timing and content of investor meetings, and the ability to present a question to fellow investors.

In the latest sign of rising shareholder activism in the US, a proposal at GEs annual meeting in Detroit on Wednesday to allow shareholders to make decisions about the company by written consent won the support of some 47.5 per cent of the votes cast.

This would have meant that shareholders would not have had to call a special meeting to push through corporate change. The motion was backed by Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis, the corporate governance advisory firms .... READ MORE

Released by the Financial Times - 25 April 2012