ASMI execs face AGM liability protest vote -paper

AMSTERDAM, May 8 (Reuters) - Board members of Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASMI (ASMI.AS)(ASMI.O) should not be discharged of liability over company policy, two influential advisory groups told investors, a Dutch paper reported.

Newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad reported on Friday that RiskMetrics and GlassLewis are advising investors to vote against discharging the management and supervisory board members of liability at the annual meeting next Thursday.

The move comes as ASMI continues to battle in court with activist shareholders Hermes and Fursa, which are seeking to have a special supervisory director appointed and a court order forcing an inquiry into company policy. [ID:nLL940695]

The midcap firm, which makes equipment used for processing, assembly and packaging of semiconductors, was not immediately available for comment over the advice from the two groups.

RiskMetrics, formerly known as ISS, and GlassLewis advise institutional investors.

They claim ASMI should have asked shareholders to decide on an indicative offer for parts of ASMI's business made by U.S. rival Applied Materials (AMAT.O) last year rather than reject the price as being too low, the FD newspaper reported.

The groups are also disgruntled over the failure of ASMI to reach a compromise deal with Hermes and Fursa, and the fact that preference shares were issued to a company foundation last year in a poison pill action, the paper added. (Reporting by Aaron Gray-Block)