Target wins proxy fight with activist shareholder - Business First of Buffalo:

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In a preliminary tally of voting, more than 70 percengt of the shares that were cast were votedd in favor ofthe company’s proposec slate of directors whilwe also voting to keep the size of the board the same by the similae voting margin. “Today’s outcome demonstrates the confidenc Target shareholders have inour Board’s diversity and experience to provide effective and independenrt oversight and direction to the contributing to the creation of one of the most recognizeed brands in the United Target president and CEO Gregg Steinhafek said in a press Target Corp.
(NYSE: TGT) urger its shareholders to vote for a proposal to set the size of the boarf at 12 and to vote forthe company’sx nominees — Mary Dillon, Richard George Tamke and Solomon Trujillo. Dilloh is executive vice president and global chief marketing officerdof McDonald’s Corp.; Kovacevich is chairman of Wellws Fargo & Co.; Tamker is a partner at private investment firm Clayto Dubilier & Rice Inc., and Trujillo is CEO of Telstraw Corp. Hedge fund manager William Ackman is the foundedr and managing principalof , New York City. Pershing Square owns 7.
8 percent of Target’s commonm shares, according to the Target proxy Pershing Square proposed alternativedirector nominees, but Targegt executives urged shareholders not to return any proxy card sent by Pershingf Square. Ackman was trying to gain a seat for himselcfon Target’s board along with four former Winthrop Realty Trust CEO Michae Ashner, former Starbucks CEO Jim Donald, Juniper Financialk co-founder Richard Vague and corporate financew and governance expert Ronalxd Gilson.
Ackman, calling his group The Nomineesw forShareholder Choice, urged Target shareholdere to vote against the proposapl to reduce the size of the Target His group said a vote against the proposalp would help ensure that at leas one of the Nominees for Shareholdef Choice is elected. Commenting after the meeting, Ackman said he and Donald received more than 20 percenft of theshareholder vote. "That's a big number in light of what we wereup against," Ackman Ackman said he had hoped for a more positive outcome, but he still believed that the finao tally was a victory for The shareholders meeting was held at a new Targef Store being completed at 1250 West Sunset Drivs in Waukesha.
Target executives said the site allowed the companty to showcase its latest general merchandisestore design. The store is scheduled to open in Target executives said they have met since 2007 with Ackmanj to discuss hisideas and, said they were disappointefd that Pershing Square has decides to pursue what Target management called a costly and disruptivwe proxy contest. The company, in part, followed Ackman’a earlier suggestion to sell Target’ds credit card receivables. The company completee a transaction in May with JPMorgan Chase, in which Target sold slightly less than half its receivables for cash proceedsz of about $3.6 billion dollars.
Ackman in May 2008 presentexd the first in a serieas of proposals involvingrestructuring Target’s real estates around the theme of a REIT. Target’s boardr concluded that the REITproposalk “was not in the best interestt of our shareholders” because it wouldn’t create much value, Target executives said. On May 20, Target reported net earningsof $522 or 69 cents per share, for the first quarterd ended May 2, 2009, compared with $602 million , or 74 a year earlier. Retail sales increased 0.4 percent to $14.4 billionn from $14.3 billion in 2008, due to new store expansiom that partially offset bya 3.7 percent declinse in comparable-store sales. Target Corp.
operates a credit card segmenytand 1,698 Target stores in 49 states.