Boeing may ease vote rules on mergers

Boeing Co, the No 2 Pentagon contractor, on Friday disclosed plans to switch to simple majority shareholder voting on merger proposals and other issues instead of requiring 75 percent approval.
Chicago-based Boeing asked its shareholders to approve the proposed change at its annual meeting on May 3, and disclosed the proposal in an update to its annual proxy statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday.
The measure stops short of a complete elimination of the 75 percent rule, which is the subject of another proposal submitted by shareholders.
The company opposes that plan, saying it could cede control to a minority of shareholders under certain circumstances.
As an illustration, the company noted that a similar proposal got more than half the votes cast at last year's meeting, but only 34.5 percent of total outstanding shares.