Oracle Corp. shareholders Wednesday rejected a proposal co-sponsored by CalSTRS calling for proxy access.
But the $186.4 billion California State Teachers' Retirement System, West Sacramento, noted a bright side to the voting on the proposal, whose other co-sponsors were the $56 billion UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust, Ann Arbor, Mich., and the £20 billion ($31.6 billion) Railway Pension Investments' Railways Pension Scheme, London.
“Independent shareholders overwhelmingly supported CalSTRS' proposal opening the corporate proxy to shareholder candidate nominations” for the Oracle board, a CalSTRS statement said. “While it received approximately 45% of the overall vote, it did not pass due to large inside ownership” by Lawrence J. Ellison, Oracle executive chairman and chief technology officer. “However, CalSTRS believes shareholders today sent a strong signal to the board of directors, and we expect more accountability from them as a result.”
Deborah Hellinger, Oracle spokeswoman, couldn't be reached for comment.
