AHMANSON CLAIMS TO HAVE VOTES IT NEEDS.Byline: Joseph A. Giannone Bloomberg News Great Western Financial Corp. said three of five proposals by H.F. Ahmanson & Co. won the backing of a majority of Great Western shares in a referendum. Ahmanson is seeking support from Great Western shareholders for its hostile takeover Hostile Takeover A takeover attempt that is strongly resisted by the target firm. Notes: Hostile takeovers are usually bad news, as the employee moral of the target firm can quickly turn to animosity against the acquiring firm. bid for Chatsworth-based Great Western. About 53 percent of Great Western shares were voted in favor of Ahmanson proposals designed to help it gain leverage in negotiating with its target, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a neutral company that counted the shareholder votes. The three nonbinding proposals call on Great Western's board to reschedule re·sched·ule tr.v. re·sched·uled, re·sched·ul·ing, re·sched·ules To schedule again or anew: rescheduled the meeting for the following week; rescheduled the debts of many developing nations. its annual meeting, prevent the board from ending the meeting before all business is discussed and prohibit pro·hib·it tr.v. pro·hib·it·ed, pro·hib·it·ing, pro·hib·its 1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. it from changing certain rules without shareholder approval. Great Western dismissed the results of the votes, saying in a statement that it ``remains strongly committed to its strategic merger with Washington Mutual “WaMu” redirects here. For the Washington, DC radio station, see WAMU. Washington Mutual (or WaMu; NYSE: WM) is the United States' largest savings and loan association. .'' Ahmanson said Great Western is putting off confirmation that its shareholders approved a proposal demanding that Great Western open its books to Ahmanson and begin negotiations. Ahmanson said it submitted the majority of votes needed on April 11. ``We don't understand the cause for delay,'' Ahmanson said in a statement, ``but it appears to be still another example of Great Western stifling its stockholders' voices.'' |
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