Apple is a shareholder friendly company – but not in the right way.
On Friday, a judge sided with activist investor David Einhorn and prevented Apple from offering shareholders the chance to a vote on three bundled governance provisions. The measure requiring shareholder approval for preferred stock issuance has gotten the most attention, since Mr Einhorn asserts a preferred stock grant could increase Apple’s value per share up to $600.
Ironically, giving shareholders the power to prevent preferred issuance would be considered shareholder friendly at a different company. According to FactSet SharkRepellent, 95 per cent of S&P 500 companies can issue preferreds without asking shareholders. Activist types usually hate this because preferreds form the basis of poison pills that ward off hostile bidders and entrench existing executives.