SoftwareOne says all proxy advisors now against replacement of board

All proxy advisors now oppose the complete replacement of Swiss IT firm SoftwareOne Holding's board of directors, the company said in a statement on Friday.

SoftwareOne's founding shareholders, who together hold 29 per cent of the stock, had proposed replacing SoftwareOne's board after it rejected an offer from Bain last year that valued the company at about 3 billion Swiss francs ($3.32 billion).

Proxy advisors provide institutional investors with research and recommendations for shareholders at annual and extraordinary meetings.

Proxy firms Ethos, Glass Lewis and Inrate have since joined ISS in opposing the planned replacement of the board, SoftwareOne said.

"The Board of Directors thus sees its position further confirmed, that a balanced board as proposed would be in the best interests of all stakeholders," said SotwareOne Holding.

The board members will all come up for re-election at the company's upcoming shareholder meeting due to be held on April 18.

($1 = 0.9024 Swiss francs)