Canadian fund BCIMC ups the heat on Bombardier ahead of AGM

By Euan Rocha
TORONTO, April 28 (Reuters) - British Columbia's main public
sector pension fund BCIMC said on Thursday it plans to support a
push for greater transparency at Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO and
that it is withholding support from all five of the
Bombardier-Beaudoin family members that sit on the company's
board.
The founding family, which own a controlling stake in the
company, are opposed to a shareholder proposal that would force
the force Bombardier to separately disclose voting results on
all resolutions by class of shares.
The proposal has been backed by leading proxy advisory firms
and other Canadian pension funds including, Canada Pension Plan
Investment Board and Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP).
BCIMC, one of Bombardier's top 15 shareholders with some 6.7
million shares in the embattled plane and train maker, said as
the board's overall independence is low it is voting against all
non-independent directors on the ballot, except the company's
Chief Executive Alain Bellemare.
The pension fund pressure is unlikely to impact the outcome
of any vote at Bombardier's annual meeting on Friday, given the
founding family's 53.23 percent voting stake.
The moves by the influential funds however, could be a bit
of an embarrassment for the company, which earlier on Thursday,
reported a major order from Delta Air Lines Inc (NYSE:DAL) DAL.N for its
CSeries jets, overshadowing a wider-than-expected first-quarter
loss for the Quebec-based company.
BCIMC also said that it plans to vote against Bombardier's
proposal to increase the number of Class A and Classs B shares
it can issue, stating "does not adhere to the "one-share,
one-vote" principle."
Bombardier's Class A shares entitle shareholders to 10 votes
per share, while its Class B shares carry 1 vote per share. The
company's dual class share structure has faced criticism in the
past. The family owns a majority voting stake largely through
the 79.5 percent of Class A multiple voting shares they control.
BCIMC, like OTPP, also said it plans to against Bombardier's
non-binding executive pay proposal.
"We are voting against this advisory vote on executive
compensation as the program is structured in a way that does not
sufficiently align pay with performance," said the pension fund
on its website.
All three pension funds are also voting against the company
plan to amend its stock option and deferred share unit plans.