AP- Shareholders of Applebee’s International Inc. voted Friday to elect two new directors from a hedge fund that had threatened a costly proxy fight before both sides agreed to a settlement last month.<\/p>\n
Richard Breeden, whose hedge fund Breeden Capital Management LLC is among Applebee’s largest shareholders, was elected by at least 95 percent of the votes cast, along with attorney Laurence Harris, a Breeden ally.<\/p>\n
Four incumbent directors were re-elected by similar margins.<\/p>\n
Breeden, a former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, had spent much of the past six months slamming the company’s performance and direction. He says Applebee’s has lagged behind most of its competitors and has advocated for the sale of many of its company-owned restaurants.<\/p>\n
His hedge fund, which owns 5.4 percent of the company’s shares, had campaigned early for four seats on Applebee’s 12-member board, even rejecting a March offer for two seats on an expanded 14-member board.<\/p>\n
But Breeden agreed to that arrangement in April with Applebee’s saying it would pay him $500,000 to cover his costs in mounting the proxy battle and will reduce the board’s size to 12 members next year.<\/p>\n