The General Motors (GM/NYSE) board of directors met Tuesday to review the status of the company's turnaround and discuss the proposed aliance with Nissan-Renault. Reading this report in The Wall Street Journal, this jumped out at me:
The board also amended the company's bylaws to allow for majority voting in election of directors, a change that had been sought by shareholders at the company's annual meeting earlier this year. The change will make it easier for shareholders to vote directors off the board. Under majority voting, nominees for board seats must receive at least 50% of the votes cast to be elected.
You know from reading this blog that GM's top six shareholders control the majority of the company's stock. Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. is one, Mason Hawkins' Southeastern Asset Management is another.
I have no idea if those two are aligned -- or even if any of the top six GM shareholders are "with" Kerkorian. Some news stories have reported Kerkorian as hinting that some are. We'll just have to wait and see.
But the newly-amended GM bylaws make it easier for a shareholder revolt to have an impact.
That's not a prediction, just a fact.
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