ExxonMobil shareholders approve plan to redomicile to Texas
ExxonMobil shareholders on Wednesday approved the board of directors’ plan to redomicile the company’s legal headquarters to Texas.
Shareholders also rejected a proposal made by two proxy advisory firms urging them to vote against the plan and add more automatic voting options to the company’s retail investor voting program.
In March, ExxonMobil Corp., based in Spring, Texas, announced its board unanimously recommended its shareholders approve changing its legal domicile from New Jersey to Texas, where its leadership and core operations have been based since 1989. The board hadn’t held a meeting in New Jersey for more than 40 years, and 30% of ExxonMobil’s global employees are located in Texas. Seventy-five percent of its U.S. employees live and work in Texas.
ExxonMobil said the reason for changing the legal domicile was Texas’ legal and regulatory environment, including its modernized business statutes and new Texas Business Court, The Center Square reported.
Not soon after, the New York City comptroller; Glass, Lewis & Co., and Institutional Shareholder Services recommended ExxonMobil and Chevron investors vote against their boards’ position on the shareholder proposals, including ExxonMobil’s plan to redomicile.
Chevron already relocated its headquarters from California to Houston. Both companies held their annual shareholder meetings on Wednesday.
ExxonMobil shareholders ignored the New York City and proxy advisers’ request and overwhelmingly voted in support of the board’s plan, approving redomiciling in Texas.
This is after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into ISS and Glass, Lewis & Co. last September, alleging they were engaged in deceptive trade practices and sued ISS roughly one week ago, alleging it was misleading investors.
In response to the ExxonMobil vote, Texans for Lawsuit Reform CEO Ryan Patric said in an emailed statement, “ExxonMobil’s shareholder vote is the kind of validation that no corporate-welfare incentive package or marketing campaign can replicate.
“This is one of the largest companies in the world, choosing, with its corporate charter, the jurisdiction it trusts to adjudicate its most consequential disputes,” Patric said. “Texas has earned that confidence through three decades of commitment to legal and regulatory reform. The imperative now is to make sure we continue to deserve it.”
James Lee, CEO of Texas Stock Exchange, also said, “Exxon’s move is also a watershed moment for America’s capital markets, and the direct result of Gov. [Greg] Abbott and the Legislature transforming Texas into the top jurisdiction for business in the U.S. Hundreds of companies representing trillions of dollars in market capitalization are poised to make similar moves. With today’s action, it is clear the faucet is about to unload.”
Shareholders also rejected a proposal made by two proxy advisory firms urging them to vote against the plan and add more automatic voting options to the company’s retail investor voting program.
In March, ExxonMobil Corp., based in Spring, Texas, announced its board unanimously recommended its shareholders approve changing its legal domicile from New Jersey to Texas, where its leadership and core operations have been based since 1989. The board hadn’t held a meeting in New Jersey for more than 40 years, and 30% of ExxonMobil’s global employees are located in Texas. Seventy-five percent of its U.S. employees live and work in Texas.
ExxonMobil said the reason for changing the legal domicile was Texas’ legal and regulatory environment, including its modernized business statutes and new Texas Business Court, The Center Square reported.
Not soon after, the New York City comptroller; Glass, Lewis & Co., and Institutional Shareholder Services recommended ExxonMobil and Chevron investors vote against their boards’ position on the shareholder proposals, including ExxonMobil’s plan to redomicile.
Chevron already relocated its headquarters from California to Houston. Both companies held their annual shareholder meetings on Wednesday.
ExxonMobil shareholders ignored the New York City and proxy advisers’ request and overwhelmingly voted in support of the board’s plan, approving redomiciling in Texas.
This is after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched an investigation into ISS and Glass, Lewis & Co. last September, alleging they were engaged in deceptive trade practices and sued ISS roughly one week ago, alleging it was misleading investors.
In response to the ExxonMobil vote, Texans for Lawsuit Reform CEO Ryan Patric said in an emailed statement, “ExxonMobil’s shareholder vote is the kind of validation that no corporate-welfare incentive package or marketing campaign can replicate.
“This is one of the largest companies in the world, choosing, with its corporate charter, the jurisdiction it trusts to adjudicate its most consequential disputes,” Patric said. “Texas has earned that confidence through three decades of commitment to legal and regulatory reform. The imperative now is to make sure we continue to deserve it.”
James Lee, CEO of Texas Stock Exchange, also said, “Exxon’s move is also a watershed moment for America’s capital markets, and the direct result of Gov. [Greg] Abbott and the Legislature transforming Texas into the top jurisdiction for business in the U.S. Hundreds of companies representing trillions of dollars in market capitalization are poised to make similar moves. With today’s action, it is clear the faucet is about to unload.”
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