Changes could be afoot in the boardroom of Twitter (TWTR). The operator of the popular instant messaging service disclosed in a regulatory filing submitted after market hours on Monday that it's putting the framework of its board of directors up to a shareholder vote, while reaffirming its current management structure. It is also relaunching its suspended share repurchase program.
These updates come at the recommendation of the management structure committee, which was formed in March to evaluate the makeup of both the company's management and its board. The committee is seen as an attempt to placate Elliott Management, the activist investor that took a 4% stake in the company just before the committee's creation.
Twitter will put the restructuring of its board to a vote during its 2021 annual general meeting of shareholders, recommending that they favor the proposal. Twitter currently has a staggered board, meaning that its directors serve for varied terms. If the proposal is ratified, all directors will have year-long terms.
In a victory for Twitter's high-profile CEO Jack Dorsey, the company wrote in the filing that "the Committee expressed its confidence in management and recommended that the current structure remain in place." Previously, Elliott Management had reportedly called for his removal.
As for the share repurchase program, almost no details were provided. Twitter only divulged that the restart would occur this quarter. It said more information would be provided in the company's upcoming 10-K annual report for 2020.
The five-member management structure committee was made up of three independent directors, one executive apiece from Elliott Management and fellow Twitter shareholder Silver Lake Partners, and three of the company's board members.