Question

The Beasley Corporation has been experiencing declining earnings but has just announced a 50 percent salary increase for its top executives. A dissident group of stockholders wants to oust the existing board of directors. There are currently 13 directors and 35,000 shares of stock outstanding, Mr. Wright, the president of the company, has the full support of the existing board. The dissident stockholders control proxies for 17,401 shares. Mr. Wright is worried about losing his job. a-1. Under cumulative voting procedures, how many directors can the dissident stockholders elect with the proxies they now hold? (Do not round intermediate calculations. Round your answer down to the nearest whole number.) Number of directors 0-2. How many directors could they elect under majority rule with these proxies? One Two Three O Four o None

Answer 1

a-1)
Number of directors = ((Number of shares owned - 1) * (total number of directors to be elected + 1)) / Number of shares outstanding

= ((17,401 - 1) * (13 + 1)) / 35,000

= (17,400 * 14) / 35,000

= 243,600 / 35,000

= 7

Number of directors = 7

a-2)
None

b)
7 = ((X - 1) * (13 + 1)) / 35,000

7 * 35,000= (X - 1) * 14

245,000 = (X - 1) * 14

X = (245,000 / 14) + 1

X = 17,501

Number of shares = 17,501