Midland Petroleum is holding a stockholders’ meeting next month. Ms. Ramsey is t
ID: 2655340 • Letter: M
Question
Midland Petroleum is holding a stockholders’ meeting next month. Ms. Ramsey is the president of the company and has the support of the existing board of directors. All 13 members of the board are up for reelection. Mr. Clark is a dissident stockholder. He controls proxies for 35,001 shares. Ms. Ramsey and her friends on the board control 55,001 shares. Other stockholders, whose loyalties are unknown, will be voting the remaining 26,998 shares. The company uses cumulative voting.
How many directors can Mr. Clark be sure of electing? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round down your answer to the nearest whole number.)
How many directors can Ms. Ramsey and her friends be sure of electing? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round down your answer to the nearest whole number.)
How many directors could Mr. Clark elect if he obtains all the proxies for the uncommitted votes? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round down your answer to the nearest whole number.)
Will he control the board?
If nine directors were to be elected, and Ms. Ramsey and her friends had 56,001 shares and Mr. Clark had 36,001 shares plus half the uncommitted votes, how many directors could Mr. Clark elect? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round down your answer to the nearest whole number.)
Midland Petroleum is holding a stockholders’ meeting next month. Ms. Ramsey is the president of the company and has the support of the existing board of directors. All 13 members of the board are up for reelection. Mr. Clark is a dissident stockholder. He controls proxies for 35,001 shares. Ms. Ramsey and her friends on the board control 55,001 shares. Other stockholders, whose loyalties are unknown, will be voting the remaining 26,998 shares. The company uses cumulative voting.
Explanation / Answer
a. Mr. Clark can be sure of electing 4 directors, based on his shareholding.
b. Ms. Ramsey and her friends can be sure of electing 6 directors, based on their shareholding.
c1. In case he obtains the proxies for all uncommitted votes, Mr. Clark can elect 7 directors.
c2. In case Mr. Clark elects 7 (which is more than 50% of the Board), he can control the Board.
d. If nine directors were to be elected, and Ms. Ramsey and her friends had 56,001 shares and Mr. Clark had 36,001 shares plus half the uncommitted votes, he can elect 4 directors.