PLOCK, Poland, June 30 (Reuters) - The Polish government on Wednesday failed to win shareholder backing for more takeover defences at PKN Orlen, the country's largest refiner, forcing it to suspend its annual meeting for two weeks.
The state-controlled group's management had wanted investor backing for statute changes that would forbid non-state shareholders with capital ties from circumventing existing limits to voting by pooling their votes.
Current rules state that non-state shareholders cannot use more than 10 percent of their voting rights.
"I hope in two weeks a compromise will be reached and changes in the statute securing the company against potential takeovers will be passed," Chief Executive Jacek Krawiec told reporters after the general meeting.
The government, which controls 27 percent of PKN, had only 58 percent of the votes at the general meeting, well short of the three-fourths required to change the statute.
PKN shares were up 2.3 percent by 1336 GMT versus a 1.0 percent rise of Warsaw's WIG20 index.
The shareholders meeting will resume on July 15. (Reporting by Patryk Wasilewski)