Apple has become the latest US company to amend its bylaws to allow long-term shareholders to nominate members to its board.

The iPhone maker in a filing said a shareholder who owns at least 3 per cent of its outstanding shares continuously for at least three years was eligible to nominate directors.

Other companies who have agreed to adopt new “proxy access” rules this year include Microsoft Corp, Staples Inc, Big Lots Inc and Whiting Petroleum Corp. “Proxy access” is shareholders’ ability to nominate directors to run against a company’s chosen slate of director nominees using its annual meeting materials.

Under Apple’s new bylaws, a group of up to 20 shareholders are eligible to nominate up to a fifth of the board, the company said in a regulatory filing yesterday. – (Reuters)