Hedge Fund Management Bring In Special Examiner At Canon's Purchase

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Hedge Fund Management Bring In Special Examiner At Canon's  Purchase
Hedge fund Elliott to bring in special examiner at Canon's Axis

Hedge fund Elliott Management has moved to bring in a special examiner at Axis as its standoff with Japan's Canon in the Swedish video surveillance firm intensified.

Paul Singer, the head of the hedge fund Elliott Management.

In a rare move, the hedge fund proposed that a minority auditor and a special examiner be appointed after its proposal for a dividend to shareholders was rejected, a statement from Axis annual general meeting showed on Tuesday.

Elliott wants the special examiner to investigate if the board and management acted in all shareholders' best interest after Canon's takeover offer for Axis.

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Under Swedish law, shareholders with 10 percent or more of shares can demand that a minority auditor and a special examiner be appointed, meaning Elliott may now apply for the appointments with the Swedish Companies Registration Office, Axis said.

Axis' board said in May it was proposing to pay no dividend for 2014 while Elliot had proposed a payout of 6 Swedish crowns per share.

The Japanese camera maker made a 23.6 billion Swedish crowns ($2.89 billion) bid for Axis in February, but the takeover hit a snag after Elliott raised its stake to 10 percent.

That effectively stopped a standard squeeze-out procedure in which Canon, once it owns more than 90 percent of Axis shares, can forcibly acquire the rest. Canon owns 84.8 percent of Axis shares, Thomson Reuters data showed.
($1 = 8.1613 Swedish crowns) (Reporting by Johan Ahlander)

[Author]

June 23, 2015 at 1:34 PM