Post Nominees Claim Big Victory

The management-backed nominees for the board of directors of Post Properties have apparently been re-elected by a wide margin, defeating nominees proposed by John A. Williams, the founder and largest shareholder of the Atlanta-based real estate investment trust.Post estimated that its nominees would wind up with more than 65% of the votes cast at its annual meeting once the results have been certified. Mr. Williams, who owns about 7.3% of Post's outstanding shares, led a proxy fight challenging the disclosure and governance practices of the multifamily REIT. "While we are disappointed with initial indications of today's voting results, we are pleased that Post shareholders will ultimately benefit from our efforts," Mr. Williams said. "During the proxy contest, in response to our platform, the company agreed to reverse its previous intention to enact additional anti-takeover measures and instead adopted many of the shareholder-friendly corporate governance initiatives we proposed." Post chairman Robert C. Goddard III said the outcome "clearly indicates that our shareholders believe that the current board and management is the right team to create value for our shareholders." Post can be found online at http://www.postproperties.com.