ABX shareholders OK name change, "poison pill" measure
Business First of Columbus
Shareholders of ABX Holdings Inc. this week approved a proposal to change the company's name to Air Transport Services Group Inc., a title the business says reflects its expanded operations after a recent acquisition.
Approval, which took place at the cargo carrier's annual meeting in its home city of Wilmington, comes about five months after ABX (NASDAQ:ABXA) bought Orlando, Fla.-based Cargo Holdings International Inc. The $259 million deal brought ABX 23 aircraft, added to its fleet of more than 100.
Shareholders also approved a Teamsters-sponsored proposal, which the company's board had urged them to reject, that called for the board to nullify its so-called "poison pill" anti-takeover defense and to submit any future poison pills to a shareholder vote.
The labor union, whose Local 1224 affiliate represents pilots of subsidiary ABX Air, had argued the poison pill unduly insulates the board from shareholder interests. It cited the board's rejection of a potential $7.75-a-share buyout offer from Miami-based Astar Air Cargo Holdings LLC last year, a decision the union contends the board didn't adequately explain.
The pilots' union has questioned management's long-term strategy during a campaign leading up to the meeting that included ads in national publications.
The company opposed the measure, saying the poison pill forces suitors to negotiate with the board, which allows it to better represent the interests of all shareholders.
ABX operates a fleet of 135 aircraft at 14 U.S. hubs. The company in 2007 recorded profit of $19.6 million on $1.17 billion in revenue.
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