Making it a little more likely that AT&T Co will succeed in getting the 80% shareholder vote it needs to replace the entire NCR Corp board, US District Judge Walter Rice, sitting in Dayton, ruled that NCR’s proposed Employee Stock Ownership Plan is invalid: he described it as making a mockery of the upcoming election for directors and criticised the haste with which it had been drawn up; he also found that it was unfair to existing shareholders; AT&T stepped up the heat and told NCR shareholders that it would raise its bid to $100 a share if they voted to overturn the entire NCR board; it is thought that 30% of NCR shares are now in the hands of arbitrageurs, 50% with institutions, the balance with individuals.
