1 June 2012

Glass Lewis Says Support for Dissident CP Rail Nominees Not Influenced by OTPP

San Francisco California USA - Glass Lewis is strongly rejecting suggestions that its support for electing dissent directors to the board of Canadian Pacific Railway may have been tainted.
 
Criticism of the well-known proxy advisory firm is contained in letters sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Centre for Capital Markets Competitiveness.
 
In them, the two organizations question whether the decision by Glass Lewis to back the dissidents was independent from its parent, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan.
 
Glass Lewis is a wholly owned subsidiary of the pension plan, which supported the dissident slate led by activist investor Bill Achman, head of a New York hedge fund that is CP Rail's biggest shareholder.
 
Glass Lewis rejects the criticism, saying it has always been careful to maintain its independence and followed its own established criteria in making recommendations.
 
Among other things, it noted that Ontario Teachers voted against all of the incumbent directors, while Glass Lewis recommended supporting seven of the company nominees.
 
Author unknown.