Clear Channel Board Survives Vote

Clear Channel Communications’ 10-person board of directors survived re-election despite opposition from Fidelity Investments, the media conglom’s largest shareholder at 15.5 percent.

Fidelity objected to the renewal of $90 million “golden parachute” severance arrangements for founder Lowry Mays, CEO Mark Mays and CFO Randall Mays, according to the Boston Herald. The action was taken in April but didn’t become public knowledge until Fidelity reported withholding its votes in August regulatory filings.

Fidelity’s decision resulted in at least 18 percent of the total votes being withheld for each director, according to the August 9th filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

“Any time your largest holder votes against the board, it means they have lost confidence in the leadership of the company,” Richard Ferlauto, a director of pension and benefit policy for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, told Bloomberg News.

“That should be a cause of concern for any board.”