{"id":35757,"date":"2016-03-08T16:15:08","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T22:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=35757"},"modified":"2016-03-09T10:22:13","modified_gmt":"2016-03-09T16:22:13","slug":"battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/","title":{"rendered":"Battle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Poroma Pant <\/strong><\/p>\n

Holders of a 7.1 percent stake in United Continental Holdings Inc. \u2013 unhappy with the company\u2019s share price \u2013 plan to launch a proxy fight to claim six seats on the airline\u2019s board. <\/p>\n

On Tuesday, United disclosed hedge funds PAR Capital Management Inc. and Altimeter Capital Management L.P. had advised the carrier that they intend to nominate an alternative slate of six director candidates at the airline\u2019s annual shareholders meeting , which is scheduled for June. <\/p>\n

The proxy plan marks the latest episode in an ongoing spat between United and the two hedge funds, and it sets the stage for a high-stakes public battle.
\n<\/p>\n

Airline Industry Share Price Growth Percentage <\/h2>\n

[field name=”chart”]<\/p>\n

United Airline’s under performance is reflected in the percentage of its share price in comparison to its competitors. (Poroma Pant\/MEDILL) <\/div>\n

The two sides have been sparring for some time. The two hedge funds, long term investors in United, have said publicly that they are frustrated with what they call the company\u2019s under performance in comparison to its industry competitors. <\/p>\n

United has experienced a series of disruptions in recent months. In September, Jeff Smisek, chief executive officer of five years, was abruptly ousted amid a federal investigation into the airline\u2019s dealings at the Port authority of New York & New Jersey. <\/p>\n

Board member Oscar Munoz, was swiftly zeroed in to fill the CEO role, and he promised to make improvements at the airline. Six weeks, however, he had a heart attack: Munoz is scheduled to return full time next week. <\/p>\n

United has not been idle during Munoz\u2019s absence. On Monday, United announced a plan to add three new independent directors to its 12 seat- board, saying the move would improve its operations and customer and employee experience. The airline said it expects to announce a fourth \u201cin the near term.\u201d<\/p>\n

The move did not sit well with the two shareholders, who blasted the action as a \u201cdesperate and cynical attempt\u201d to maintain power in a public letter to United Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen exactly did you determine that the Board was so inadequate as to need four new directors, all at once, and without an annual meeting or a stockholder vote?\u201d, the letter added. It was signed by the CEO\u2019s of both the hedge funds, Paul A. Reeder of PAR and Brad Gerstner Atimeter. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn our view,\u201d the letter continued, \u201c– given United’s valuable and industry-leading strategic asset base \u2013 this long-term under performance directly results from an under qualified, ineffective, complacent, and entrenched Board.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gordon Bethune, former chief executive officer of Continental Airlines, is the most prominent of the six candidates that the hedge funds have nominated to serve as directors. The candidates, the two hedge funds said, are all experienced professionals who \u201ccan bring meaningful experience, objective oversight, and powerful change to United.\u201d <\/p>\n

United fired back \u201cWe are deeply disappointed that after United attempted to engage in a constructive, good faith dialogue with PAR & Altimeter, they have taken this hostile action with no concern that a proxy fight could distract the company from executing on Oscar\u2019s strategic plan,\u201d\u201d said Non-Executive Chairman Henry L. Meyer III.<\/p>\n

In a proxy fight, the company and the outside group that has nominated a competing slate of candidates appeal to shareholders, and the stockholder vote determines which set of nominees is seated at the board. <\/p>\n

While results of this battle will typically be reflected during the company\u2019s annual meeting in June, this gives both the current board and the PAR-Altimeter front plenty of time to campaign for shareholder support for their respective nominees.<\/p>\n

The infighting didn\u2019t seem to have much impact on investors: In mid afternoon New York Stock exchange trading Tuesday, United\u2019s shares only changed slightly, down by 47 cents or .61 percent at $57.29. <\/p>\n

Representatives of the two hedge funds couldn’t be reached for comment. <\/p>\n

Two hedge-fund operators are launching a proxy fight for 6 seats on United Continental’s board. (BriYYZ\/Flikr<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Poroma Pant Holders of a 7.1 percent stake in United Continental Holdings Inc. \u2013 unhappy with the company\u2019s share price \u2013 plan to launch a proxy fight to claim six seats on the airline\u2019s board. On Tuesday, United disclosed hedge funds PAR Capital Management Inc. and Altimeter Capital Management L.P. had advised the carrier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":268,"featured_media":35768,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,28,585],"tags":[939,883,688,1183,179],"class_list":["post-35757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-general-interest","category-winter-2016","tag-medillreports","tag-airlines","tag-business","tag-elected-board","tag-united-continental"],"yoast_head":"\nBattle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Battle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Poroma Pant Holders of a 7.1 percent stake in United Continental Holdings Inc. \u2013 unhappy with the company\u2019s share price \u2013 plan to launch a proxy fight to claim six seats on the airline\u2019s board. On Tuesday, United disclosed hedge funds PAR Capital Management Inc. and Altimeter Capital Management L.P. had advised the carrier […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-08T22:15:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-03-09T16:22:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/rsz_united_continental_airlines_boeing_777-200er_n78009_7721069610_2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"618\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"poromapant\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"poromapant\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/\",\"name\":\"Battle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight - Medill Reports Chicago\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/rsz_united_continental_airlines_boeing_777-200er_n78009_7721069610_2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-08T22:15:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-03-09T16:22:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/2a860dd91391079f4428e861e29faa7d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/rsz_united_continental_airlines_boeing_777-200er_n78009_7721069610_2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/rsz_united_continental_airlines_boeing_777-200er_n78009_7721069610_2.jpg\",\"width\":1100,\"height\":618,\"caption\":\"united\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Battle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/\",\"name\":\"Medill Reports Chicago\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/2a860dd91391079f4428e861e29faa7d\",\"name\":\"poromapant\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/242544b3587b5314de0661f6d3e0cc3099c76c16c300851c60088c83e18712df?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/242544b3587b5314de0661f6d3e0cc3099c76c16c300851c60088c83e18712df?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"poromapant\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/poromapant\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Battle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight - Medill Reports Chicago","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Battle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight - Medill Reports Chicago","og_description":"By Poroma Pant Holders of a 7.1 percent stake in United Continental Holdings Inc. \u2013 unhappy with the company\u2019s share price \u2013 plan to launch a proxy fight to claim six seats on the airline\u2019s board. On Tuesday, United disclosed hedge funds PAR Capital Management Inc. and Altimeter Capital Management L.P. had advised the carrier […]","og_url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/","og_site_name":"Medill Reports Chicago","article_published_time":"2016-03-08T22:15:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-03-09T16:22:13+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1100,"height":618,"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/rsz_united_continental_airlines_boeing_777-200er_n78009_7721069610_2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"poromapant","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"poromapant","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/","name":"Battle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight - Medill Reports Chicago","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/rsz_united_continental_airlines_boeing_777-200er_n78009_7721069610_2.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-08T22:15:08+00:00","dateModified":"2016-03-09T16:22:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/2a860dd91391079f4428e861e29faa7d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/rsz_united_continental_airlines_boeing_777-200er_n78009_7721069610_2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2016\/03\/rsz_united_continental_airlines_boeing_777-200er_n78009_7721069610_2.jpg","width":1100,"height":618,"caption":"united"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/battle-for-the-board-united-shareholders-plan-proxy-fight\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Battle for the board: United shareholders plan proxy fight"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/","name":"Medill Reports Chicago","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/2a860dd91391079f4428e861e29faa7d","name":"poromapant","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/242544b3587b5314de0661f6d3e0cc3099c76c16c300851c60088c83e18712df?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/242544b3587b5314de0661f6d3e0cc3099c76c16c300851c60088c83e18712df?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"poromapant"},"url":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/author\/poromapant\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35757","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35757"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35757\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35757"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35757"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35757"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}