The French government retains a blocking stake in the entity, raising questions about how it will use its influence and whether the merger is against the spirit of the European Commission's energy-liberalisation policy.
And with the Hewlett and Packard family foundations, representing more than 18percentt of the company's shares, committed to voting against the merger, an Institutional Shareholders Service recommendation against the deal could be a conclusive setback for the management's plan.
Finally, voting blanks were passed around and the result was 565,099 votes in favor of the merger and 2,983 against it.
The media regulator Ofcom has recommended it be scrutinised by the Competition Commission as the merger "may operate against the public interest".
DealBook » Xstrata Shareholders to Vote Against Merger | Standard Life Investments, the fourth-largest investor in Xstrata, said the proposed merger with Glencore undervalued the company's assets and its future earnings potential, Reuters reports.
Stephen M. Case and Gerald M. Levin came to Washington today to defend the proposed merger of America Online and Time Warner against a rising tide of criticism that the new colossus will be so anticompetitive that it must be reined in by regulators even before its creation.
"It's hard to believe they're going to complete the merger with Sibneft against everyone's wishes," said Harvey Sawikin, a money manager with Firebird Management, which invests in Russian equities.
