TOKYO (Reuters) – Toshiba Corp plans to propose giving two of its major hedge fund shareholders seats on its board, people familiar with the matter said, a move that could give foreign investors more influence over the troubled Japanese conglomerate.
Toshiba plans to nominate the executives from Elliott Management and Farallon Capital Management for board seats ahead of its annual shareholders meeting in June, said the people, who declined to be identified because the matter has not been made public.
Three of the people said Toshiba will propose Elliott, and two of them said it would also propose Farallon.
The move could mark a turn in a long battle between Toshiba’s management and its activist shareholders.
A Toshiba spokesperson said the company hasn’t finalised its board director nominees, adding that it will promptly make disclosures as soon as decided.
Farallon, Toshiba’s third-largest shareholder with a stake of more than 6%, and Elliott, which sources say owns just under 5% of Toshiba, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by David Dolan)
