Slot machine manufacturing giant IGT – International Game Technology intends to dissuade shareholders from attending the company’s annual meeting in Las Vegas next month.
There are at least two specific shareholders that IGT management wants to keep an eye on the outside world.
Or how would you describe IGT’s plans for this year’s event? 파워볼게임
The annual shareholders’ meeting will take place on March 5 at 7:30 a.m. inside the secluded “Canyon Gate Country Club” with a security gate where employees reside. Proving ownership, shareholders may be out of bounds, but they will have to fight for a seat in a clubhouse conference room the size of a stamp.
In the past, IGT shareholders’ meetings were held in the company’s spacious office in Reno, where the manufacturer’s latest slot machines and gaming products were displayed. Employees were often invited to mingle with shareholders, a handful of local residents who owned the stock for weeks.
Last year’s annual meeting was held at Red Rock Resort, where shareholders could see IGT products operating on the casino floor.
The last time I checked, Canyon Gate didn’t have a game license.
Clearly, the heated proxy war surrounding IGT’s formation of an eight-member board is dictating the company’s actions.
Last week, a group led by analyst-turned-investor Jason Adder and former IGT chairman Charles Mathewson received permission from the Securities and Exchange Commission to request a shareholder vote.
The group wants to replace three of IGT’s members with Mathewson and two, including one of Ader’s business partners.
Adder Group, which controls 3% of IGT’s issued shares, has filed a lengthy “struggle letter” detailing how the company has left its core slot machine business and “out” casino customers. The move has worsened IGT’s financial performance, sending its shares down more than 20% over the past three years.
In IGT’s representative statement, company leaders said the manufacturer was “positioned for sustained growth” after dealing with the “disturbance” of its previous management. IGT lost 70 percent of its market capitalization between 2004 and 2009. In the recently concluded first quarter, IGT’s revenue rose 41 percent.
It will be up to the company’s shareholders whether they will maintain the process or change the situation.
Game industry watchers said proxy fights are rarely successful, but often damage existing management structures. Analysts said they would like to see Aider Group’s business plans before judging the possibility of a proxy fight.
IGT’s coverage of the shareholders’ meeting is helping the company in no way. Susan Cartwright, vice president of corporate communications, said the media would not be allowed to attend the shareholders’ meeting.
In fairness, IGT held its annual meeting in 2011 at Bears Best Country Club in Summerlin. But the golf course is open to the public. There was nothing controversial about the agenda.
The rule for most game companies is that they should be non-face-to-face at their annual gatherings. Shareholder attendance is often thin. A casino company held its annual gathering a few years ago in a luxurious strip resort ballroom, and there was plenty of food and drink buffets. None of its shareholders showed up.
A year later, the same company held a meeting at a local casino. Breakfast was arranged again. The only shareholder who showed up was the executive’s relative.
Twelve months later, a general shareholders’ meeting was held at the company’s headquarters. This time, everyone brought their own coffee. However, several shareholders showed up looking for free meals.