HAMILTON, Bermuda, Nov. 18, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. (NYSE:WPL) today held its Annual General Meeting of shareholders in Hamilton, Bermuda.
A slate of nine (9) directors composed of William P. Stewart, Henry B. Smith, Mark I. Phelps, Alexandre von Furstenberg, John C. Russell, Angus S. King, Jr., Alfred J. Mulder, Heinrich Spangler and Richard D. Spurling was elected to the Board of Directors. A proposal that the maximum number of directors be maintained at twelve (12), and that the directors of the Company be authorized to appoint new directors either to fill vacancies occurring in the Board of Directors or to act as additional directors (up to the maximum of twelve), was also approved.
During the Annual General Meeting, William P. Stewart, Executive Chairman of the Company, thanked retiring Board member, Jan J. Spiering, for his service to the Company.
Mr. Stewart commented, "I am grateful to Jan Spiering for his strong support and objective guidance as a board member. His depth of experience, both with private and public companies, has been of great assistance to us. His commitment and leadership as chair of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors is particularly appreciated."
In addition, the shareholders approved a resolution effecting a consolidation (the "Share Consolidation") of the Company's authorized and issued shares, par value U.S. $0.001, pursuant to which every ten shares of the Company will be consolidated, reclassified and converted into one new common share of the Company, of par value U.S. $0.01. The Share Consolidation will become effective at 6:00 p.m. Bermuda local time on 19 November 2008.
In other action, the shareholders also:
1. approved the bye-laws of the Company as amended and restated in
order to permit (i) the issuance of fractional shares, which is
advisable for purposes of the Share Consolidation, (ii) the
electronic delivery of documents, (iii) the Company to hold
repurchased shares in the Company's treasury as treasury shares,
(iv) Shareholder action by written consent upon less than
unanimous consent, and (v) designated individuals to execute
corporate documents which formerly required the affixation of the
corporate seal;
2. re-appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company's
independent auditors for the fiscal year ended 31 December 2008
and until the close of the Annual General Meeting of the Company
for 2009 and to authorize the Board of Directors (acting by its
Audit Committee) to fix the auditors' remuneration; and
3. ratified and approved the issuance or the commitment to issue by
the Company of 2,547,500 of its common shares, in the aggregate
prior to the Share Consolidation, to certain of its directors,
officers and other employees during the year ended 31 December
2007 and the first half of 2008 (all of which shares are or will
be subject to vesting requirements) and the commitment by the
Company to issue in the future up to an additional 80,000 common
shares, in the aggregate prior to the Share Consolidation, to
certain of its officers and employees (all of which additional
issuances are subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions
relating to the Company's profitability, investment performance
or both).
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. is an asset management company that has provided research intensive equity management services to clients throughout the world since 1975. The Company is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda and has additional operations or affiliates in the United States, Europe and Asia.
The Company's shares are listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:WPL) and on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX:WPS).
For more information, please visit the Company's website at http://www.wpstewart.com, or call W.P. Stewart Investor Relations (Fred M. Ryan) at 1-888-695-4092 (toll-free within the United States) or +441-295-8585 (outside the United States) or e-mail to IRINFO@wpstewart.com.