Claim IN&M motion may be used to build up O'Reilly position

A shareholder advisory service claims that a motion at the extraordinary general meeting (egm) of Independent News & Media could be used to reinforce the O'Reilly family's dominant position in the company.

The egm will follow the group's annual general meeting (agm) at the Culloden Hotel in Belfast on June 13th.

Shareholders at the egm will asked to vote on an amendment to the company's articles governing the price at which it can buy back its own shares.

Proxy voting agency Manifest says in a report on IN&M that the proposed change could be seen as a defensive mechanism as it will aid the company in buying back its own shares in situations where a "party has purchased shares in the market at a price above the average market price.

"Thus it may be seen as an attempt by the O'Reilly family shareholders, and the board (who may in certain circumstances be deemed under the Irish Takeover Rules to be acting in concert) to maintain their dominant position in the company," Manifest says.

But an Independent News spokesman rejected this yesterday and said that all the resolutions proposed at the egm were designed to strengthen and improve compliance with corporate governance standards. "The company's view is that it is fully compliant with the combined code [which sets down corporate governance guidelines]."

The spokesman dismissed a claim in the same report that shareholders did not receive the required 21 days' notice of the egm. "The notification of the meeting was sent with the notification of the agm to all shareholders on May 14th," he said.