Day: October 29, 2005

Sun Shareholders Proposal Passes

The headline in the business section of the San Jose Mercury News Friday was "Shareholders Rebuke Sun".  At Sun’s annual meeting shareholders passed  a proposal to get rid of Sun’s  poison pill. The poison pill is designed to make hostile takeovers difficult. I think it is pretty unusual for a shareholders proposal to pass but given how long Sun has been underperfoming it is not surprising. 

The proposal was submitted by a William Steiner.  I am curious to know who he is. A Google search didn’t turn up much other that that he files shareholder proposals quite frequently. Edgar Online shows 356 filings by him over more than 10 years.

Even though the shareholder proposal passed it is not binding so it will be interesting to see if Sun pays attention to what its Shareholders think. I also wonder whether the poison pill  is stopping any potential buyers.

I used to work at Sun and I still own Sun stock. I would have to agree with the other shareholders that a takeover might be the best possible thing for Sun given that current management doesn’t seem to be able to deliver.

Catfish and Mandala

I just finished reading Catfish and Mandala by Andrew X. Pham.It is a fascinating, moving, enthralling read. The book was thought provoking on lots of different levels. Pham and his family arrived in the US from Vietnam in 1977 when he was 10. Catfish and Mandala is the story of his family and of his life both in Vietnam and as an American immigrant.  It is also the story of his return to Vietnam and of his journey by bicycle through Vietnam. Although  the book is about his travels it is much more an exploration of Pham’s Vietnamese American  experience. It is really hard to describe this book because it delves into so much. But I couldn’t help feeling a connection to Pham  even though so much  of what he experienced is so alien to anything I have every experienced. Pham is an extraordinarily talented writer. I highly recommend the book.