Facebook seeks to curb Zuckerberg's majority control if he leaves

Facebook Inc's board of directors has proposed a new proxy to prevent Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg from holding majority control of the social network if he leaves the company.

The Silicon Valley Business Journal reported Friday that the proposal, which was filed Thursday night with the regulatory U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), would be voted on at the June 20 annual shareholder meeting of the company based in Menlo Park, south of San Francisco.

It would change the 32-year-old Zuckerberg's shareholding classification to one where he would not have majority control if he leaves for any reason.

"These new terms thus ensure that we will not remain a founder-controlled company after we cease to be a founder-led company," according to the proxy statement filed to the SEC.

Currently, with 53.8 percent of the voting power, and about 419 million Class B shares and some 4 million Class A shares, Zuckerberg would be able to hold voting control if he left Facebook. He would also be allowed to pass on shares and voting control to his descendants after he dies.

The filing reportedly proposes that if Zuckerberg were to resign or be fired, his Class B shares would convert to Class A, which would mean he would have just one vote per share instead of 10. However, the filing said the change of majority holdings is not because Zuckerberg has plans to leave, but that it is more of an incentive to keep him at Facebook. Endit