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

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In a preliminary tally of voting, more than 70 percent of the sharesz that were cast were voted in favod ofthe company’s proposed slate of directors whilee also voting to keep the size of the board the same by the simila voting margin. “Today’s outcome demonstrates the confidence Target shareholder s have inour Board’s diversity and experience to provide effective and independenft oversight and direction to the company, contributing to the creation of one of the most recognizefd brands in the United States," Target president and CEO Gregh Steinhafel said in a pressx release. Target Corp.
(NYSE: TGT) urgedc its shareholders to vote for a proposal to set the size of the boardc at 12 and to vote forthe company’sz nominees — Mary Richard Kovacevich, George Tamke and Solomon Dillon is executive vice president and global chief marketing officer of McDonald’s Corp.; Kovacevicgh is chairman of Wells Fargo Co.; Tamke is a partner at private investment firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice Inc., and Trujilll is CEO of Telstra Corp. Hedgs fund manager William Ackman is the founder and managiny principalof , New York City. Pershing Square owns 7.8 percent of Target’s common shares, according to the Targeyt proxy statement.
Pershing Square proposee alternativedirector nominees, but Target executives urge shareholders not to return any proxy card sent by Pershinh Square. Ackman was trying to gain a seat for himsel fon Target’s board along with four former Winthrop Realty Trust CEO Michaelk Ashner, former Starbucks CEO Jim Donald, Juniper Financial co-founder Richard Vague and corporatwe finance and governance expert Ronald Gilson. calling his group The Nomineesx forShareholder Choice, urged Targert shareholders to vote against the proposal to reducr the size of the Target board.
His group said a vote against the proposal would help ensure that at least one of the Nomineexs for Shareholder Choiceis elected. Commenting aftefr the meeting, Ackman said he and Donalf received more than 20 percent of theshareholderf vote. "That's a big numbere in light of what we wereup against," Ackmab said. Ackman said he had hoped for a morepositivw outcome, but he still believed that the fina tally was a victory for The shareholders meeting was held at a new Targey Store being completed at 1250 West Sunset Drivre in Waukesha. Target executives said the site allowedx the company to showcase its latest general merchandiseestore design.
The store is scheduler to openin July. Target executives said they have met sinced 2007 with Ackman to discuss hisideas and, said they were disappointeds that Pershing Square has decided to pursue what Targett management called a costly and disruptive proxg contest. The company, in part, followed Ackman’s earlieer suggestion to sell Target’s credit card receivables. The compang completed a transaction in May withJPMorgan Chase, in whichj Target sold slightly less than half its receivablesx for cash proceeds of abou $3.6 billion dollars. Ackmab in May 2008 presented the first in a series of proposals involvingrestructuring Target’s real estate aroundr the theme of a REIT.
Target’s board concludesd that the REITproposao “was not in the best interest of our because it wouldn’t create much Target executives said. On May 20, Targer reported net earnings of $522 or 69 cents per share, for the first quarte r ended May 2, 2009, compared with $602 millioh , or 74 cents, a year earlier. Retaio sales increased 0.4 percent to $14.4 billioh from $14.3 billion in 2008, due to new stored expansion that partially offset bya 3.7 percenyt decline in comparable-store sales. Target Corp.
operates a credir card segmentand 1,698 Target stores in 49