Lockheed Chief, Simmons Meet; Vote Results Official

Lockheed Chairman Daniel M. Tellep and Harold C. Simmons, the Texas billionaire who recently sought shareholder support in a failed proxy fight to take control of Lockheed, met at Lockheed’s Calabasas headquarters on Monday to discuss their differences and the aerospace firm’s future.

The two met just hours after Tellep announced the official results of shareholders’ voting in the March 29 Lockheed annual meeting. The final tally confirmed that the 14 incumbent directors had received support ranging from 57.6% to 60.7% of the voted shares, with many shareholders splitting their votes between the incumbents and Simmons’ slate. That result was virtually identical to a preliminary count released April 10 by an independent election inspector.

The discussion between Tellep and Simmons was the first since the sometimes-bitter proxy campaign ended. Details from the talks were not immediately available. However, Simmons has indicated that one of his goals in a meeting with Tellep would be to try to get a number of board seats set aside for NL Industries, a Houston-based chemical firm he controls. NL Industries, chaired by Simmons, owns an 18.94% stake in Lockheed and is the aerospace firm’s largest shareholder.