GEs Board of Directors should dismiss CEO Jeff Immelt, says the Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX); Immelts failed leadership hurts shareholders
For more info contact: Steve Milloy, 301-258-2852, steve@feafund.com
Washington DC, October 20, 2008 - The board of directors of the General Electric Company should immediately dismiss Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt says Action Fund Management, the investment adviser to the Free Enterprise Action Fund (Ticker: FEAOX), a publicly-traded mutual fund.
AFM urges GEs board to take immediate action because after years of failed leadership on the part of Immelt, the company is in disarray and its stock is in freefall.
AFM adds the following reasons to justify Immelts dismissal:
- GE had to scramble earlier this month to raise about $12.2 billion in a stock offering and seek an additional $3 billion from Berkshire Hathaway to assist GE Capital its ailing finance unit.
- GE stock is selling at about a 10-year low.
- GE is facing two shareholder class action lawsuits alleging company executives made false and misleading statements in providing earnings guidance to shareholders in 2008.
- GE continued to do business with Iran in 2008.
- GE continues to lobby for a global warming regulatory scheme that will increase energy prices and slower economic growth.
Since 2006 we have been warning shareholders that Immelt was not up to the task of managing GE. Unfortunately, in only a few years, Immelt has caused irreparable harm to the company. The board of directors must act now and dismiss Immelt before he causes additional damage, said Steve Milloy of AFM.
Its time for GEs board of directors to discard its clubby atmosphere and represent shareholders interests. For far too long the board watched while Immelt stubbornly held on to the outdated conglomerate business model and he overleveraged GE to meet earnings expectations. Immelt needs to go and now, said Tom Borelli of AFM.
The FEAOX owns approximately 8,000 shares of GE stock.
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