By Clara Ferreira-Marques
LONDON, June 5 (Reuters) - Shareholders in Kazakh miner ENRC staged a muted rebellion on Wednesday, as they soughtto rein in the board's powers to sell and buy stock even as theyoverwhelmingly voted in favour of pay and backed all directors.
After months of damaging boardroom rows, corruption probesand regulatory inquiries, ENRC's board gave little detail at thecompany's annual shareholder meeting, remaining silent on boththe progress of prosecutors' graft investigations or a potentialbuyout offer from its founders.
"We are still cleaning up the problems - how long it takes,we cannot (know)," newly appointed Chairman Gerhard Ammann toldreporters, declining to detail any measures being taken.
He told investors the company was committed to "a full andtransparent investigation of both procedures and conduct".
The founders and the Kazakh government - which together ownalmost 54 percent of ENRC - have until June 24 to either make afirm offer or walk away. Last month they tabled a tentativeproposal valuing ENRC at $5 billion, which ENRC's independentboard members say "materially undervalues" the group.
In a measure of the minimal amount of ENRC shares not heldby its major investors, the board and its new chairman facedonly one shareholder question on Wednesday - unrelated to eitherthe bid or the corruption inquiry.
And despite some expectations of a major backlash fromminority investors, most of the directors were approved with thesupport of more than 99 percent of those voting.
A far larger number - including some top shareholders - did,though, oppose the board's authority to issue shares or buy themback, seeking to rein in the board, though a majority stillbacked the measures.
Shareholders approved the board's right to issue shares - astandard resolution - and in a decision that could benefit thebidding trio of founders, shareholders voted down a resolutionthat would have granted the board authority to issue shareswithout preemption rights for existing investors.
Just under 26 percent of shareholders voted against, meaningany equity issue will be a rights issue.
An even greater number - almost 40 percent - voted againstthe second resolution to be thrown out - one that would haveallowed the board to buy back shares.
Rival miner Kazakhmys, the largest shareholder with26 percent of ENRC, declined comment on its voting decisions.
A trio of oligarchs - Alexander Machkevitch, AlijanIbragimov and Pathokh Chodiev - own 14.6 percent, 14.6 percentand 13.1 percent respectively, while the Kazakh government owns3.1 percent. Metals tycoon Suleiman Kerimov owns 3 percent.
ENRC declined to comment on whether it had been contacted byKerimov on his intentions, after the billionaire bought a stakeof more than 3 percent in the miner in the past weeks.
