Summary of voting question I have been following this proxy battle. Here is my impression.
Vote FOR: Benefit Telus management
Vote AGAINST: Benefit Mason hedge fun
TELUS management will benefit from the 1:1 conversion, there is no doubt. They have some ecomonic interest. That said, so what? TELUS management has done a great job improving shareholder value over the past few years. Dividend increases, share appreciation, and lots of growth.
What has Mason done? Absolutely nothing except create a hedge position in the hopes of manipulating a shareholder vote. There interest is to make short term money on this trade.
So, shareholders have two options: FOR or AGAINST. FOR TELUS, or AGAINST TELUS. AGAINST benefits nobody except for Mason. The voting shareholders will reap no benefit in an 'AGAINST' win.