(April 26 – 17:30 ET) – Assante Corp. CEO Martin Weinberg has converted 100% of his outstanding Multiple Voting Shares to Subordinate Voting Shares in the company.

The conversion eliminates the company’s dual class voting structure along with Weinberg’s right to elect a majority of the company’s board of directors. Weinberg and his family continue to be the largest shareholders in the company, holding 15,288,442 Subordinate Voting Shares or 2% cent of the outstanding Subordinate Voting Shares.

“The dual class voting structure was intended to provide me with sufficient voting authority at the time of our initial public offering to ensure the successful execution of our acquisition, integration and branding strategy,” said Weinberg in a statement.

“I now believe that our execution risk has declined to a point where I am able to relinquish this voting authority and adopt a simpler governance structure. The conversion of these shares is another important step in meeting the needs of the investment community. Our next step will be to elect a board of directors comprised of a majority of independent directors.”