Telus drops share conversion plans; profits up more than 6%

VANCOUVER – Telus withdrew its share conversion proposal just hours before the plan was to be put to a vote at its annual general meeting of shareholders on Wednesday morning. The company said in a statement that it decided against the move in large part because of a campaign led by the U.S.-based hedge fund Mason Capital Management which it accused of using empty voting trading tactics designed to defeat the plan. Empty voting is buying shares to vote them while simultaneously short selling shares in the same company, a practice that Telus called “troubling” noting that it gives a fund more...