Publix Stays Private

SN STAFF

LAKELAND, Fla. — A group of employees who had been seeking to force Publix Super Markets here to sell its stock on the open market have apparently been thwarted, at least for the time being.

No shareholders at the company's annual meeting on Tuesday brought up the matter for discussion, Maria Brous, a Publix spokeswoman told SN.

The group, called Publix Employee Shareholders United, last month had proposed a new slate of directors as part of its effort to push the company to go public. Publix, which is owned by an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, or ESOP, only makes its shares available to workers.

A separate effort by the town of Campbellton, Fla., to seize the voting rights of Publix shareholders also was not discussed at the meeting, Brous said. Neither group has contacted Publix directly, she added.