Acxiom makes concessions to end battle with investor

It launched a takeover bid for Acxiom in 2005, which was rebuffed, and this year mounted a campaign to secure three board seats at the upcoming AGM by putting its own candidates up against board members.

In the deal now struck by the two sides, Acxiom has sanctioned the expansion of its board from nine to 11.

Ubben has already been given one of the extra seats for two years, and has also been made a member of Acxiom's corporate governance committee and a newly created finance committee.

ValueAct will be responsible for choosing the second extra director, who will be nominated for selection at the company's AGM on September 27.

Charles Morgan, company leader and chairman, said: "I am pleased Jeff is joining the Acxiom board and am confident his contributions in the boardroom will help us accelerate the momentum that has clearly been building in our business."

Last week Acxiom announced strong first quarter results including a 173% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits to $29.2m.

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