Microsoft Corp. today announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.13 per share. The dividend is payable Sept. 10, 2009, to shareholders of record on Aug. 20, 2009. The ex-dividend date will be Aug. 18, 2009.
The board also passed a resolution recommending that the company’s shareholders approve amendments to Microsoft’s articles of incorporation to give shareholders representing 25 percent or more of outstanding shares the right to call special shareholder meetings.
“The ability of shareholders to call special shareholder meetings is increasingly considered an important shareholder right,” said John Seethoff, vice president and deputy general counsel for Microsoft. “Proposing this new policy is another example of our ongoing commitment to maintaining strong corporate governance principles and practices.”
The board will submit the proposed amendments to a vote of shareholders at the 2009 annual shareholders meeting in November. If shareholders approve the amendments, the company’s bylaws will be amended to include provisions addressing the procedural requirements that shareholders would follow to call a special meeting.
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