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SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec 15 (Reuters) - The largest U.S. pension fund is eyeing retail giant J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE:JCP - news), drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp. (NYSE:RAD - news) and 13 other firms for its annual list of corporate America's poorest performers, a fund spokesman confirmed on Wednesday.
The California Public Employees' Retirement System, or Calpers, is in early discussions with the companies over their potential inclusion on the final corporate governance list which will be made public in mid-February, said Calpers spokesman Brad Pacheco.
The $155 billion pension fund each year lists about 10 companies in its portfolio that it feels needs to boost performance and shareholder returns.
Other possible targets in the the Calpers portfolio include Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE:AMD - news), A.G. Edwards (NYSE:AGE - news), Bob Evans Farms (NasdaqNM:BOBE - news), Charter One Financial (NYSE:CF - news), Crown Cork (NYSE:CCK - news), Dura Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqNM:DURA - news), First Union Corp. (NYSE:FTU - news) and Intergraph (NasdaqNM:INGR - news), Pacheco said.
International Flavors (NYSE:IFF - news), Lone Star Steakhouse (NasdaqNM:STAR - news), Parametric Technology (NasdaqNM:PMTC - news) PhyCor (NasdaqNM:PHYC - news) and Winn-Dixie (NYSE:WIN - news) round out the other potential laggards, Pacheco said.
''These are the companies under consideration,'' Calpers spokesman Brad Pacheco said.
But A.G. Edwards said in a statement that it did not believe it should be considered for the list and noted that it had posted four consecutive fiscal years of record revenues and earnings.
''We have been responsive in our discussions with Calpers and have provided them with information which we think answered their questions,'' the company said.
A spokeswoman for Intergraph said the company was already working with Calpers to meet the pension fund's concerns and has proposed adding two new independent members to the Alabama-based firm's board of directors.
''Our plans, though formed independently, are in keeping with the Calpers request for additional independent members on the Intergraph board of directors,'' Jeannie Robison, a company spokeswoman said in a telephone interview.
Representatives from the other firms declined to comment or could not be immediately reached.
The preliminary list was made public on Tuesday after a Calpers staff report was mistakenly released to the media.
Pacheco cautioned, however, that this did not mean that any of the firms on the current list would necessarily end up on the final February report.
''As we meet with these companies in the next few months, factors may change that require us to remove or add a company that may or may not be conducive to corporate governance attention at this time,'' Calpers said in a statement.
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