Apple to hold vote on investor payout

Investor Carl Icahn announced the end of his campaign to pressure Apple into increasing its share buyback programme.

Investor Carl Icahn announced the end of his campaign to pressure Apple into increasing its share buyback programme.

Published Dec 31, 2013

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London - Apple has bowed to pressure from an activist investor in the latest twist in a £90bn payout battle.

Billionaire Carl Icahn has already got an agreement from the tech Goliath to pay out £60bn in dividends and share buybacks in the next two years.

He has also pushed for a vote by shareholders on whether Apple should commit to a further £30bn in payouts in 2014.

Now Apple has agreed to include a vote on Icahn’s demands at February’s annual investor ballot – although it has advised shareholders to vote against the move.

The group has almost £85bn in bank accounts around the world, but has not yet laid out what it plans to do with the money.

Icahn holds a stake in Apple worth £1.6bn, around 0.01pc of the group’s shares, making him one of the largest investors.

He has a history of activism, and has spent much of the past year unsuccessfully trying to take control of the computer maker Dell. - Daily Mail

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