Olivia Harris/ReutersJames Murdoch
The News Corporation’s independent shareholders voted largely against reinstating Rupert Murdoch’s sons James and Lachlan to the company board, according to a tally the company filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
Although the Murdoch family’s control of a large percentage of voting shares all but guaranteed that all 15 board members would be re-elected after a contentious shareholder meeting on Friday, the detailed tally showed widespread opposition to the roles of James and Lachlan Murdoch.
Investors also voted heavily against Natalie Bancroft, an aspiring opera singer and socialite, and Andrew S. B. Knight, a former News Corporation executive who serves as the head of the board’s compensation committee.
The results of Friday’s vote were not expected to have a significant effect on the company’s leadership since the Murdoch family controls 40 percent of voting shares. And Prince Walid bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, who controls about 7 percent of voting shares, has publicly backed the Murdochs and their management.
Still, James, the company’s deputy chief operating officer, has come under increased scrutiny in recent months as News Corporation’s British newspaper unit deals with a phone-hacking scandal at its now defunct News of the World tabloid. He was re-elected with 433 million votes, or 65 percent of the total.
Paul Hackett/ReutersLachlan Murdoch
His brother Lachlan received 440.9 million votes, or approximately 66.3 percent.
Ms. Bancroft, who joined the board after the acquisition of her family’s company, Dow Jones Company, was re-elected with 66.4 percent of the vote, while Mr. Knight received 67.7 percent.
And while Rupert Murdoch, the chief executive, easily retained his additional position as chairman, he was re-elected with 84.4 percent of the vote, one of his lowest approval rates in years. Chase Carey, the chief operating officer and a likely successor to Mr. Murdoch, fared better, garnering a 90.5 percent vote.
News Corporation scored some victories, to be sure. Its two newest directors, the former New York City schools chancellor Joel I. Klein and the venture capitalist James W. Breyer, were elected with more than 96 percent of the vote.
And a floor proposal to prevent Mr. Murdoch from serving as both chairman and chief executive failed spectacularly: Just 0.22 percent of votes cast were in favor of the initiative.
Still, such a significant vote against James and Lachlan Murdoch could eventually affect the future makeup of the company, analysts said. Until The News of the World scandal broke open this summer, James had been seen as a likely candidate to take over for his father.
“Shareholders can send a message that the company has to heed,” said Doug Creutz, a senior research analyst at the Cowen Group.
In an interview ahead of the shareholder vote, he pointed to a 2004 campaign by several thousand shareholders to oust Michael Eisner from his chief executive post at the Walt Disney Company. Not long afterward, he was replaced by Robert A. Iger.
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=256b11c44dfc1704677035004346ab20
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