By Deepa Seetharaman
A Facebook Inc. investor urged the social network to eliminate
its supervoting stock, which would diminish Chief Executive Mark
Zuckerberg's control of the company.
In a securities filing Monday, NorthStar Asset Management Inc.
Funded Pension Plan backed a shareholder proposal that would prod
Facebook to give all shares a single vote.
Facebook's current dual-stock structure gives Class B shares 10
votes apiece. Mr. Zuckerberg holds the vast majority of Class B
shares, giving him about 60% voting power and effective control
over the company's strategic direction.
"We are very concerned that over the long term, the use of
insider control at Facebook to insulate management from addressing
shareholder issues and concerns will have a negative impact on
long-term shareholder value," NorthStar Asset Management said in
the filing.
The proposal was included in Facebook's proxy statement,
released last month. But its sponsors weren't identified. NorthStar
said Monday it was a sponsor of the proposal.
Facebook declined to comment on NorthStar's filing. In its proxy
statement, it defended the current structure.
"Our board of directors believes that our dual-class capital
structure contributes to our stability and insulates our board of
directors and management from short-term pressures, which allows
them to focus on our mission and long-term success," the company
said.
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