Shareholder votes regarding Aquent’s proposed changes to CHC’s board and bylaws, were too close to call at the end of the company’s annual general meeting on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Mountain Lakes, New Jersey-based company.

In April 2003, Boston, Massachusetts-based Aquent, a privately held professional services company, nominated two new directors to CHC’s board, and proposed an amendment to the company’s bylaws that would reduce the minimum shareholding required to call an extraordinary general meeting to 5% from 10%.

The proposals are part of Aquent’s attempt to win shareholder support for its plan to acquire CHC. The company claims that its original private proposal to acquire CHC for $5 a share had been spurned by CHC founder, John Cassese, then CEO and president of the company. It has subsequently sought to force a change in the company’s management and win approval from within.

CHC said in a statement: The official outcome and certification by the Inspectors of Election, IVS Associates, is expected in 10 days to two weeks. The proposal regarding lowering the shareholder vote requirement to call a special meeting, while not as close as the vote on directors, is also subject to an official outcome and certification by the Inspectors of Election. Official results are expected to be announced on May 28.

The delay will provide some respite for shareholders from the month-long public tug-of-war, with accusations of dishonesty and deception flying back and forth. For example, CHC has accused Aquent of not having the funding to buy the company for $5 a share, and that the offer is just a veil to push through its board nominees, with the ultimate goal of acquiring the company for a much lower price. The company even obtained a court decree ordering Aquent to stop making misleading statements about its intentions.

For its part, Aquent claims that an investigation by an independent shareholder advisory firm, Insitutional Shareholder Services, concluded that CHC had an egregious corporate government practice and that it had not fully disclosed information regarding product profitability, and details of the deal struck with Cassese when he resigned last month following allegations of insider trading.

Source: Computerwire