Microsoft will consider shareholder proposals at its annual meetings through next year, at the request of an activist looking to preserve investor rights as they come under pressure from a contentious U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission rule change proposed last week.
Under an agreement with conservative activist Paul Chesser, seen by Reuters, Microsoft will continue to apply existing thresholds for investors to submit resolutions for a vote, even as the SEC considers changes that critics say would sideline individual investors, religious groups, unions and others who have had a say through the shareholder proposal process for decades.
