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

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In a preliminary tally of more than 70 percent of the sharesw that were cast were voted in favor ofthe company’s proposed slate of directors while also voting to keep the size of the boardf the same by the similar voting “Today’s outcome demonstrates the confidence Targey shareholders have in our Board’s qualifications, diversity and experiencer to provide effective and independenr oversight and direction to the company, contributingh to the creation of one of the most recognizeds brands in the United States," Target president and CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a pressw release. Target Corp.
(NYSE: TGT) urged its shareholderx to vote for a proposal to set the size of the boarc at 12 and to vote forthe company’sz nominees — Mary Dillon, Richardf Kovacevich, George Tamke and Solomon Trujillo. Dillon is executivr vice president and global chief marketing officerof McDonald’sd Corp.; Kovacevich is chairman of Wells Fargok & Co.; Tamke is a partnerf at private investment firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc., and Trujillo is CEO of Telstr a Corp. Hedge fund manage William Ackman is the founder and managing principalof , New York Pershing Square owns 7.8 percent of Target’sw common shares, according to the Targeg proxy statement.
Pershing Square proposed alternativdirector nominees, but Target executives urged shareholdersd not to return any proxy card sent by Pershinfg Square. Ackman was trying to gain a seat for himselton Target’s board alontg with four others: former Winthropl Realty Trust CEO Michael Ashner, former Starbucks CEO Jim Donald, Juniper Financial co-founder Richarr Vague and corporate finance and governance expert Ronald Ackman, calling his group The Nomineex for Shareholder Choice, urged Target shareholders to vote against the proposalo to reduce the size of the Targer board.
His group said a vote against the proposal would help ensure that at least one of the Nomineeas for Shareholder Choice is Commenting afterthe meeting, Ackman said he and Donald received more than 20 percent of the shareholder vote. "That's a big number in light of what we were up Ackman said. Ackman said he had hopeds for a morepositive outcome, but he still believee that the final tally was a victorhy for shareholders. The shareholders meeting was held at a new Targetr Store being completed at 1250 West Sunsert Drivein Waukesha. Target executives said the site allowedx the company to showcase its latest general merchandisestorse design.
The store is scheduled to open in Target executives said they have met since 2007 with Ackmajn to discuss hisideasw and, said they were disappointed that Pershinv Square has decided to pursue what Targeg management called a costly and disruptive proxyt contest. The company, in part, followed Ackman’s earliefr suggestion to sell Target’s credit card receivables. The company completede a transaction in May with JPMorgan in which Target sold slightly less than half its receivablees for cash proceeds ofabouy $3.6 billion dollars.
Ackman in May 2008 presentef the first in a series of proposals involvingrestructurinh Target’s real estate around the theme of a Target’s board concluded that the REIT proposal “was not in the best interest of our shareholders” because it wouldn’tr create much value, Target executives said. On May 20, Target reported net earnings of $522 million, or 69 centsz per share, for the first quarter endedc May 2, 2009, compared with $602 millionh , or 74 a year earlier. Retail sales increased 0.4 percengt to $14.4 billion from $14.3 billion in due to new store expansion that partially offse t bya 3.7 percent declinew in comparable-store sales. Target Corp.
operates a credit card segmengtand 1,698 Target stores in 49