London: James Murdoch, the son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, was on Tuesday re-elected chairman of British broadcaster BSkyB even though a fifth of shareholders voted against his reappointment.
Several key shareholders of BSkyB voted against James Murdoch at the company's annual general meeting on Tuesday.
News Corp, which owns 39 per cent of BSkyB, is also the parent company of News International (NI), of which Murdoch is also the chairman. NI has been under a cloud over the phone-hacking controversy.
Murdoch, 38, also holds the post of deputy chief operating officer at News Corp.
BBC reported that provisional figures announced at the meeting gave him 81.24 per cent of the vote, with 18.76 per cent against.
When votes withheld were taken into account, James Murdoch received the support of 75.4 per cent of shareholders, versus 17.4 per cent opposed and 7.2 per cent withheld.
Excluding votes cast by News Corporation, he received the support of 55 per cent of independent shareholders. One of the shareholders who voted against Murdoch's re-election was Standard Life Investments, which manages six million shares in BSkyB.
Its head of governance and stewardship, Guy Jubb, said in a statement, "We should like to see a new and independent chairman appointed .
He added, "Our misgivings had been heightened by the revelations of stewardship short-comings at the News of the World, a title for which Mr Murdoch bore a measure of responsibility."
BSkyB's deputy chairman, Nicholas Ferguson, told shareholders that James Murdoch was doing a good job.
"He runs an excellent board. Discussions are open and frank, his chairing is very good. He has put in place strong governance procedures. He has a strong strategic view," Ferguson said.
Comments
0 comment