One of the largest shareholders of Southwest Airlines wants a special meeting before the end of the year to vote on a slate of new board members.
Elliott Investment Management has been pushing for major changes at Southwest Airlines, and the founder of the investment firm has argued that the company's current management and board members are not acting quickly enough.
Elliott Investment Management wants a vote on eight new members of the Southwest Airlines board. The company said that would effectively give Elliott's nominees full control of the board.
The airline's leaders said they would comply with Texas laws and company bylaws regarding the request for a shareholder meeting. They also issued a statement critical of the request.
"Elliott's Special Meeting request is unnecessary and inappropriate considering the extreme nature of Elliott's demands. The timing of Elliott's request to apparently pursue Board control appears designed to maximize disruption of Southwest's execution of its important business transformation underway as we approach one of the busiest travel periods of the year," the current Southwest Airlines Board of Directors wrote. "Elliott's actions highlight its lack of understanding of Southwest's business and its insatiable need to put its own interests ahead of those of all shareholders."
Elliott has requested the shareholders meeting on Dec. 10. Southwest's board said it would "discuss the process for setting a Special Meeting with Elliott in a constructive manner."
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