Microsoft sets dividend, corp governance changes

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. on Friday declared an unchanged quarterly dividend of 8 cents a share and said it changed its rules for electing directors.

Under the new rules, any director who receives a majority of withheld votes in an uncontested election must submit his or her resignation to the board, Microsoft said.

The software company's governance and nominating committee would then consider the resignation and make its recommendation to the board about how to proceed.

Walt Disney Co, which faced major shareholder protests over corporate governance practices last year, introduced a similar requirement last month.

Microsoft said the dividend would be payable on Dec. 8 for shareholders of record on Nov. 17.

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