John Menzies Loses Vote to Cancel Preference Shares
John Menzies PLC (MNZS.LN) said Tuesday that a resolution on the cancellation and repayment of its preference shares failed to get the required majority of at least 75% of its preference shareholders.
The U.K. aviation-services company said 63.6% of votes cast by its preference shareholders at a general meeting were in favor of the proposal, while 36.4% of votes were cast against it.
John Menzies had previously said it no longer considered it appropriate to maintain its preference shares, citing the fact that these shares carry rights which require it to seek consent from their holders in certain circumstances, limiting the company's flexibility in future activity. John Menzies also said its preference shares carried a preferential dividend in excess of the interest paid on its borrowings, and maintaining them led to administrative inconvenience and cost.
In a circular sent to shareholders ahead of the meeting, the company said it had 1.4 million preference shares in issue, versus 84.4 million ordinary shares. Under the company's proposal, preference shareholders would have received two ordinary shares for every seven preference shares held.