Greenlight Capital hedge fund manager David Einhorn will hold a conference call with Apple’s stockholders on Thursday to discuss an upcoming proxy vote. The hedge fund is suing the Cupertino firm in hopes of garnering preferred stock.
One day after a federal judge sided in part with Greenlight’s case, Einhorn announced on Wednesday that he will address Apple shareholders directly to argue his stance on the issuance of perpetual preferred stock, reports Reuters.
Einhorn is suing Apple over the company’s “Prop 2” proposal that would revoke the ability of Apple’s board members to issue preferred stock, putting that power instead in the hands of the shareholders.
Dubbed “Greenlight Opportunistic Use of Preferreds” or “GO-UPs,” the preferred stock would would pay out higher than normal dividends to divvy out some of Apple’s $137 billion cash pile.
Greenlight argues in its court case that Apple’s “bundling” of three items into Prop 2 goes against SEC rules. Apple countered by saying that the SEC had reviewed the proxy, and found no problems with its content. Apple also stated the the “GO-UPs” would only enhance Greenlight’s financials, and “do not serve the public interest.”
If the lawsuit is indeed successful, Apple would still not be required to issue the preferred stock. If the injunction is not granted, the decision on the proposal will come down to the shareholder vote scheduled for February 27th.
