Activism
Take-Two shareholders vote in new board
Shareholders in US company,
Take-Two Interactive Software, elected
an alternative slate of directors to its board last month leading to the
appointment of a new chairman, Strauss Zelnick, and acting chief executive, Ben
Feder.
Five new directors replaced incumbent directors, including
the chief executive Paul Eibeler who is now working with Zelnick and Feder to
ensure an orderly transition. Just two incumbent directors, John Levy and Grover
Brown, who are both independent members, remain on the board.
The election of the new directors followed a group of
shareholders announcing that they would all vote for an alternative slate of
candidates and establish a management agreement with Zelnick's firm, ZelnickMedia.
Following a meeting of the new board the company announced that it had ratified
the contract with ZelnickMedia, allowing it to act as a financial and management
consultant to Take-Two.
Take-Two, which
recently restated financial statements because of stock option grant backdating,
had delayed its annual meeting while the previous board held talks with the
group of shareholders. Alternative proposals were considered, including a
possible sale of the company, but no agreement had been reached before the AGM
was held.
Zelnick and his partners which include Feder, said that
they had achieved several successful operational turnarounds and the new board
planned to put in place strategies to revitalise Take-Two.
In February the US Securities
and Exchange Commission reached a settlement with Take-Two’s
former chairman and chief executive, Ryan Brant, over allegations that he
enriched himself and others through stock options backdating.
Links
Take-Two Interactive Software
US Securities and Exchange Commission
April, 2007 |
