SEC Delays Study of 1-Share, 1-Vote Plan by NYSE

In a surprise action Friday, the Securities and Exchange Commission delayed consideration of a proposal by the New York Stock Exchange that could disenfranchise stockholders in hundreds of Big Board companies.

Chairman John S. R. Shad said the action was taken because the NYSE, the American Stock Exchange and the National Assn. of Securities Dealers had made progress in negotiations to devise a standard on whether companies listed on the markets must give their stockholders one-share, one-vote rights.

“There’s encouraging progress being made by the exchanges and NASD in reaching a standard . . . so it would be premature to take action today,”cq Shad said.

He did not indicate how long the SEC would be willing to wait before taking action.

“No deadline has been set, because everybody has been acting in good faith to come up with a solution to the problem,” Shad said.