The California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), the second-largest U.S. public pension fund, said it would vote against a proposal by Toyota Motor Corp to issue "Model AA" shares as they would be closed to investors outside Japan.
CalSTRS owns just 4.3 million shares, or 0.1 percent of Toyota stock, but is a well-known fund whose opposition comes on the heels of the introduction this month of a new corporate governance code in Japan aimed at making companies more shareholder-friendly.
The fund's opposition also comes days after shareholder advisory Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS) said it did not support the plan. Rival proxy adviser Glass, Lewis & Co, however, has spoken out in favour of the proposal, saying it would give the company more flexibility.
Toyota needs a two-thirds majority to pass the proposal at its annual general meeting on June 16.
The automaker announced plans for the new class of shares in April, saying they were meant to attract longer-term investors best suited for a business cycle that requires longer-term product planning and development.
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