Stelmar stockholders reject takeover bid

Stelmar stockholders reject takeover bid    Stockholders of Stelmar Shipping Ltd., a New York Stock Exchange-listed tanker shipping company, Tuesday voted to reject a $703 million takeover bid by Fortress Investment Group LLC, an investment firm based in New York.
   The vote represents a setback for the board of directors of the Stelmar Shipping, which had approved the bid, and a victory for Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the founder of Stelmar Shipping and one of its main stockholders, who had opposed it. Haji-Ioannou immediately called for the resignations of chairman Nick Hartley, chief executive Peter Goodfellow and chief financial officer Stamatis Molaris, Reuters reported.
   The company’s board is considering what to do next.
   Stelmar Shipping has not disclosed detailed figures on the outcome of the vote.
   Stelmar’s stock price closed down 0.07 percent at $40.80 on Tuesday, higher than the $40 bid price of Fortress Investment.