Toshiba plans to give two hedge fund seats - sources

TokYO Reuters -- Toshiba Corp plans to give two of its major hedge fund shareholders seats on its board, people familiar with the matter said, a move that could give foreign investors more influence over the troubled Japanese conglomerate.

Toshiba plans to nominate the executives from Elliott Management and Farallon Capital Management for board seats ahead of the annual shareholders' meeting in June, said the people who don't want to be identified because the matter has not been made public.

Three of the people said Toshiba will propose Elliott, and two of them said it would also propose Farallon.

The move could be a turning in the long battle between Toshiba's management and its activist shareholders.

A Toshiba spokesman said the company hasn't finalised its board director nominees, but it will make disclosures as soon as possible.

Farallon, Toshiba's third-largest shareholder with a stake of more than 6%, and Elliott, which sources say owns just under 5% of Toshiba, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.