Shareholders of HomeStreet Inc. approved the re-election of Scott Boggs, Douglas Smith and Mark Patterson as directors, HomeStreet announced May 24, based on the preliminary vote count at the company's annual shareholders meeting.
A tussle between HomeStreet and Roaring Blue Lion Capital Management LP has been ongoing regarding the appointments to the company's board. HomeStreet approached its state regulatory authority, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions, in early March to determine whether voting on Blue Lion's proxy card is acceptable under Washington banking law.
Based on an interpretative letter issued by the regulator, HomeStreet had said that there is a "substantial risk" that the company will not be able to count any votes on Blue Lion's proxy card, including for quorum purposes. Blue Lion had disagreed that its proxy card may be invalid, but it encouraged investors to vote on HomeStreet's proxy card to ensure all votes are counted.
HomeStreet later said that it will count votes on activist shareholder proxy cards on a provisional basis, subject to the final determination on whether those cards are valid.
The bank said that its nominees were re-elected with enough votes whether or not votes on Blue Lion's proxy cards were counted.
