- 89 - below the 80 percent which petitioners claim that stock pos- sessed. According to petitioners, the director objectionable action provision gave the Mitsui group a contingent right to acquire additional voting power over future actions of Alumax, which is comparable to the contingent rights held by the holders of the preferred stock in Erie Lighting Co. v. Commissioner, supra, and by the holders of convertible or exchangeable stock and unexercised options or warrants. In this connection, peti- tioners assert: During the period at issue the law was clear that "voting power" was determined on the basis of actual voting power at the time of measurement, and that any possibility that voting power might change as a result of an event, such as the conversion of non-voting stock into voting stock or a purchase or redemption of stock, even if scheduled to occur, was irrelevant. * * * To support their position with respect to the director objection- able action provision, petitioners rely on, inter alia, the following cases and rulings involving certain questions raised under the consolidation provisions: (1) Atlantic City Elec. Co. v. Commissioner, 288 U.S. 152 (1933), which held that preferred stock with certain voting rights was voting stock even though it was redeemable by the issuer at any time because the holders of that stock had voting rights with respect to the "direction of * * * [the corporate] undertaking", id. at 156, and their voting rights remained unimpaired until actual redemption of that stock;Page: Previous 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 Next
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