Ascom turns down uniform share
Shareholders of the telecommunications equipment company, Ascom, have overwhelmingly rejected plans to simplify the share structure, at their annual general meeting in Berne.
More than two-thirds of shareholders on Wednesday turned down the proposal to replace the current two-tier share structure with a uniform share.
The vote followed a lengthy discussion at the meeting on Wednesday, and marks the culmination of a long-running debate.
The change had been proposed by the financier, Ernst Müller-Möhl, whose A&A Actienbank is one of Ascom’s largest shareholders. The bank pressed ahead with the proposal, despite Müller-Möhl’s death in a plane crash earlier this month.
The dispute centred around the Hasler Foundation, which despite owning only 22 per cent of the shares, has 54 per cent of voting rights at Ascom.
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