Target wins proxy fight with Ackman, Pershing Square - Houston Business Journal:

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In a preliminary tally of voting, more than 70 percentt of the shares that were cast were voterd in favor ofthe company’s proposee slate of directors while also voting to keep the size of the boardd the same by the same votin margin. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) urged its shareholdersz to vote for a proposal to set the size of the boardd at 12 and to vote forthe company’s nomineexs — Mary Dillon, Richard Kovacevich, George Tamke and Solomon Trujillo. Dillonm is executive vice president and global chief marketingh officerof McDonald’s Corp.; Kovacevich is chairman of Wells Fargi & Co.
; Tamke is a partner at private investmentg firm Clayton Dubilier & Rice and Trujillo is CEO of Telstrq Corp. Hedge fund manager William Ackman is the founder and managing principalpof , New York City. Pershing Squaree owns 7.8 percent of Target’s commom shares, according to the Target proxy statement. Pershing Squared proposed alternativedirector nominees, but Target executives urges shareholders not to returh any proxy card sent by Pershing Square.
Ackman was tryin to gain a seat for himselfon Target’s boar along with four others: former Winthrop Realty Trust CEO Michaell Ashner, former Starbucks CEO Jim Donald, Junipe Financial co-founder Richard Vague and corporate finance and governancde expert Ronald Gilson. Ackman, callinbg his group The Nominees forShareholder Choice, urgedx Target shareholders to vote against the proposal to reduce the size of the Targeyt board. His group said a vote against the proposa would help ensure that at least one of the Nominees for Shareholderd Choiceis elected. The shareholders meeting was held at a new Targett Store being completed at 1250 West Sunsey Drivein Waukesha.
Targeft executives said the site allowed the companyy to showcase its latest generalp merchandisestore design. The store is scheduled to open in Target executives said they have met sincr 2007 with Ackman to discuss hisideas and, said they were disappointedr that Pershing Square has decided to pursue what Target managemenyt called a costly and disruptivs proxy contest. The company, in followed Ackman’s earlier suggestion to sell Target’d credit card receivables. The company completed a transaction in May with JPMorgan in which Target sold slightl y less than half its receivablez for cash proceeds ofabour $3.6 billion dollars.
Ackman in May 2008 presented the first in a series of proposals involvingrestructurinb Target’s real estate around the themee of a REIT. Target’s board concludefd that the REITproposal “wax not in the best interest of our shareholders” becausd it wouldn’t create much value, Target executivees said. On May 20, Targeg reported net earnings of $522 or 69 cents per share, for the firsrt quarter ended May 2, compared with $602 million , or 74 a year earlier. Retail sales increased 0.4 percengt to $14.4 billion from $14.3 billion in 2008, due to new store expansioh that partially offset bya 3.7 percenrt decline in comparable-store sales. Target Corp.
operates a credif card segmentand 1,698 Targetg stores in 49 states.