Houston Chronicle – Reliant Energy said Tuesday it reached an agreement with hedge fund Seneca Capital Advisors, which had threatened to start a proxy battle to gain three board seats at the Houston-based power company.<\/p>\n
Reliant said Seneca had agreed not to run a slate of board candidates, while Reliant would appoint a board director “who is a representative of a substantial institutional stockholder of the company” by Sept. 1.<\/p>\n
Seneca said in a prepared statement that it looks forward to working with Reliant to enhance shareholder value “and to the nominating committee’s consideration of a senior Seneca official” forthe Reliant board.<\/p>\n
New York-based Seneca holds 4.3 million shares, or 1.4 percent of Reliant, according to regulatory filings.<\/p>\n
Reliant has been under pressure to improve its operations as investors brace for another loss from the Houston-based company this year.<\/p>\n
Seneca’s statement did not identify an official, and a spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.<\/p>\n