Sonus Directors Re-Elected
Amid Spat With Big Investor
By KEITH J. WINSTEIN
June 20, 2008 5:50 p.m.
Sonus Networks Inc. said three of its board members were re-elected at the company's annual meeting Friday, but received only 57% of shareholder votes.
The Westford, Mass., maker of telecommunications equipment has been locked in a public spat with its largest shareholder, Legatum Global Holdings Ltd., a Dubai-based investment fund which owns 25% of Sonus.
Legatum withheld votes for Sonus's nominees after the company rebuffed its request to add two directors to Sonus's seven-member board and pursue various acquisitions.
In a letter, Sonus accused Legatum of violating a federal law requiring it to file paperwork about its 25% stake, questioned the complex structure of Legatum and affiliated funds, and said the prospect of appointing representatives of a Dubai-based fund to its board required "special treatment."
A spokesman for Legatum said "they look forward to continued discussions" with Sonus. The fund's founder and chairman is the reclusive New Zealand billionaire Christopher Chandler. Legatum says it has more than $4 billion in assets. Although it lists its address in Dubai, Legatum is incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and owned by a Cayman Islands trust.
Sonus, with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, sells telecom equipment to large carriers, including AT&T Inc. It had revenue of $320 million in 2007.
Write to Keith J. Winstein at keith.winstein@wsj.com |
