But one wrinkle is that American Funds doesn't necessarily vote all its shares as one block. Rather, the company encourages individual portfolio managers to vote as they see most fit for their shareholders, and at least six funds hold shares in Heinz. "You could have one [fund] that would vote one way and one that would vote another," said Chuck Freadhoff, a spokesman for American Funds.
Nonetheless, this certainly is not the first time analysts have speculated on how American Funds' sizable holdings in an American corporation facing a proxy battle might influence its outcome. American Funds holds large blocks of
Heinz expects to have the results on its proxies by Sept. 15.