Tim Cook: Shareholder lawsuit is a 'silly sideshow'

You may recall a TUAW post last week about a shareholder lawsuit spearheaded by Greenlight Capital fund manager David Einhorn. The lawsuit essentially claims that Apple isn't doing enough to make sure that shareholders are receiving the benefits of the company's success, and contests a proposition to add a requirement to Apple's charter forcing any move to issue preferred stock to be approved by common shareholders. Apple CEO Tim Cook, speaking at a Goldman Sachs investor conference today, referred to the lawsuit as a "silly sideshow."

According to our sister site TechCrunch, Cook commented during the conference that the approval process by common shareholders was part of a 2012 look at how Apple could improve its governance. According to Cook, "I find it bizarre that we would find ourselves being sued for something that's good for consumers." Cook's personal preference? To have both sides take any money that would be wasted in fighting a lawsuit and donate it to a worthy cause.

Cook thinks that the lawsuit is "a waste of shareholder money, and it's a distraction, and it's not a seminal issue for Apple." Regardless of whether the proposition makes it into the Apple corporate charter, Cook said that the company will insist on a vote from common shareholders before any preferred stock is issued.