Investor Urges Facebook to Eliminate Supervoting Stock

A Facebook Inc. investor urged the social network to eliminate its supervoting stock, which would diminish Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg's control of the company.

In a securities filing Monday, NorthStar Asset Management Inc. Funded Pension Plan backed a shareholder proposal that would prod Facebook to give all shares a single vote.

Facebook's current dual-stock structure gives Class B shares 10 votes apiece. Mr. Zuckerberg holds the vast majority of Class B shares, giving him about 60% voting power and effective control over the company's strategic direction.

"We are very concerned that over the long term, the use of insider control at Facebook to insulate management from addressing shareholder issues and concerns will have a negative impact on long-term shareholder value," NorthStar Asset Management said in the filing.

The proposal was included in Facebook's proxy statement, released last month. But its sponsors weren't identified. NorthStar said Monday it was a sponsor of the proposal.

Facebook declined to comment on NorthStar's filing. In its proxy statement, it defended the current structure.

"Our board of directors believes that our dual-class capital structure contributes to our stability and insulates our board of directors and management from short-term pressures, which allows them to focus on our mission and long-term success," the company said.

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