By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON (Reuters) – Kohl’s Corp investors are expected to reject all 10 of activist Macellum Advisors’ director nominees in one of the year’s most hotly contested proxy battles, sources familiar with the vote count said on Wednesday.
The U.S. department store chain is expected to hold its annual meeting later on Wednesday when the offical vote count will be announced.
Macellum, led by veteran investor Jonathan Duskin, criticized Kohl’s for not doing enough to improve its business and pushed the company to put itself up for sale.
The company countered by saying that its high caliber board has the right experience and expertise to execute on the company’s strategy and urged shareholders to back its 13 nominees. The company is currently evaluating bids to sell itself and some investors argued that this process should be completed by the existing board.
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that Kohl’s investors elect two of the 10 board nominees suggested by Macellum.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Editing by Louise Heavens)
