(The Associated Press circulated the following on December 21.)
NEW YORK — CSX Corp. shareholders 3G Capital Partners Ltd. and The Children’s Investment Fund Management LLP said Wednesday they have partnered to jointly nominate a minority slate of 5 directors to the railroad operator’s board.
The action was disclosed in Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The group owns about 8.3 percent of CSX’s outstanding common stock. The members also hold derivative securities with economic interest in an additional 11.8 percent of outstanding shares.
“CSX’s incumbent board has overseen a railroad that for many years has lagged its peers on many of the key metrics of operational and financial performance,” said TCI Managing Partner Christopher Hohn, who is among the board nominees. TCI, which owns a 4.2 percent CSX stake, is a London-based asset manager that manages The Children’s Investment Master Fund.
The group said it has made unsuccessful attempts to discuss the company’s operations with its management and board.
In a statement released in response to the shareholders’ action, CSX said the company’s current board has helped to nearly triple its stock price in the past three years and return value to stockholders.
“The board also believes the company’s outstanding record of financial, safety and operational improvements demonstrates unequivocally that CSX is a well run company,” CSX said in the statement
In mid-October, the The Children’s Investment Master Fund asked CSX’s board to separate the roles of chairman and chief executive officer, add new directors with railroad experience, present a plan to improve operations, and improve labor relations, among other actions.
3G Managing Director Alexandre Behring is also nominated to the board.
The remaining nominees are Gilbert Lamphere, managing director of private investment firm Lamphere Capital Management; Timothy O’Toole, managing director of the London Underground; and Gary Wilson, former chairman of Northwest Airlines.
The slate will be up for election at the company’s 2008 annual shareholders meeting.
CSX shares fell 29 cents to $43.32 in afternoon trading.