ISS recommends ASMI shareholders support AGM proposal to dismiss CEO - reports

ASM International NV shareholders have been advised by Institutional Shareholder Services to vote in favour of proposals to dismiss chief executive Chuck del Prado and five members of the supervisory board at the company's AGM on May 21, various Dutch media report.

The proposals have been made by Hermes Focus Asset Management Ltd, a 15 percent shareholder in ASMI, and involve replacing the CEO and supervisory board members with industry specialists, including Farhad Moghadam, a former top executive of Applied Materials Inc.

Hermes is supported by Fursa Alternative Strategies LLC, which holds a 9.8 percent stake in ASMI. Last week, sources told Thomson Financial News that Sandell Asset Management and Pequot Ventures are also building stakes in ASMI and are set to support the proposals.

On April 28, ASMI announced a strategic review of its front-end business in a bid to appease activist shareholders, saying it will target revenue growth above market growth in 2009.

The company also said it plans to expand operating profit margins at its front-end business to a range of 11 percent to 13 percent in 2009, up from 3.4 percent in 2007.