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Schwartz officially steps down as Onex CEO as share plan approved

TORONTO — Shareholders of Onex Corp. have approved a change to its multiple-voting shares that will allow Gerry Schwartz to retain voting control of the company for another three years even as he officially steps down as chief executive.
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Shareholders of Onex Corp. have approved a change to its multiple-voting shares at their annual meeting that will allow Gerry Schwartz to retain voting control of the company even as he officially stepped down as chief executive. The Onex Corporation logo is displayed at the company's annual general meeting in Toronto on Thursday, May 10, 2012. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette

TORONTO — Shareholders of Onex Corp. have approved a change to its multiple-voting shares that will allow Gerry Schwartz to retain voting control of the company for another three years even as he officially steps down as chief executive.

Onex president Bobby Le Blanc was named to the top job at the private equity investment firm, while Schwartz will remain as chairman.

The special voting rights were set to expire when Schwartz stepped down as CEO, but shareholders were asked to allow a change to provide for a three-year sunset provision on the multiple-voting shares.

The plan was approved by 98 per cent of the votes cast by Onex's subordinate voting shares at the company's annual meeting.

The three-year period is down from an initial plan for five years that was changed by the company after consultations with shareholders.

Onex is expected to report its first-quarter results on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:ONEX)

The Canadian Press