ISS Sides With Apple Over Einhorn on “Blank Check” Proposal
Shareholder adviser ISS Proxy Advisory Services has urged investors to vote for an Apple Inc. proposal to eliminate the company’s power to issue preferred stock without shareholder approval, after hedge-fund manager David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital Inc. challenged Apple’s proposal earlier this week.
“ISS policy supports the elimination of ‘blank check’ preferred shares, because of their potential to be misused in a takeover defense,” the firm said in a note published on Friday. Also, the firm said, if Apple eventually decided it wanted to issue such shares, obtaining shareholder support wasn’t likely to be “an insurmountable obstacle.”