TOKYO (Reuters) – About 43% of Toshiba Corp shareholders backed an activist fund’s proposal to elect its co-founder as board director, vote results showed on Tuesday, potentially increasing pressure on the Japanese firm to improve governance.
The closely contested proxy fight with top shareholder Effissimo Capital Management ended in favour of Toshiba on Friday, but the amount of support for the fund’s co-founder suggests a substantial number of shareholders sought changes.
Even though Toshiba’s own 12 nominees won majority votes, Chief Executive Officer Nobuaki Kurumatani received only 58% support for reelection, the lowest since he took office in April 2018, according to the results.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
