Storer’s Board Election Tally Delayed to May 29

Storer Communications, which is fighting a takeover attempt by dissident shareholders, said Wednesday that it won’t learn until May 29 the final results of the board of directors election.

After shareholders cast their votes and proxies at last week’s annual meeting, Chairman Peter Storer predicted reelection of a majority of the current board.

Storer needs to have at least five of the nine-member board reinstated in order to keep Storer out of the hands of a dissident group that wants to liquidate it. The group, which owns 5.3% of Storer, is being led by New York-based Coniston Partners.

Coniston, which offered its own slate of nine directors, said it was confident that it would win “significant representation.”

Storer officials said last week that the proxy outcome would be announced when its annual meeting reconvened Friday. But in a brief statement released Wednesday, the company said the results wouldn’t be ready by then.

“I don’t know any other details,” Storer spokesman Andy Holdgate said. “All I know is we’re confident they will be ready at the May 29 meeting.”

Votes were being counted by CT Corp. of Wilmington, Del.

The current board of directors has approved a $1.64-billion leveraged buy-out agreement with the New York investment firm Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Co. But Coniston argues that Storer should review other merger bids.

The leveraged buy-out agreement calls for Storer, which owns seven television stations and 600 cable franchises in 18 states, to merge with KKR Holding, a corporation recently formed by Kohlberg, Kravis.

Storer’s management would continue to run the nation’s fifth-largest cable-television company.