Shareholders Reject Kilroy Realty's Executive Compensation Plan

Shareholders in Kilroy Realty Corp. (KRC) rejected the office and industrial landlord's executive compensation plan which provided Chief Executive and founder John Kilroy with a $1 million base salary and $2.5 million in equity awards, according to a regulatory filing.

The vote, held last week during the company's annual meeting, is non-binding. However, it marked the second consecutive year that shareholders rejected Kilroy's compensation package even after the company took steps to address some concerns voiced by investors and proxy governance firms. Kilroy is also the second REIT this week after Simon Property Group Inc. (SPG) to disclose that investors cast a no vote on its compensation agreement.

Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass Lewis & Co. called on investors to vote against the plan because the company didn't make enough strides to link remuneration with performance. "The biggest concern remains; the company has not addressed the underlying problem of whether executive pay is properly aligned to performance," Glass Lewis said in a report. "We do not believe the current structure for granting cash and equity awards properly and sufficiently establishes this link."

Kilroy's stock closed up 21 cents to $46.33 Wednesday. It is up 21.7% in the year to date.

-By A.D. Pruitt, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2197; [e-mail]