Proxy adviser ISS backs activist shareholder's proposal for Toshiba probe

TOKYO (Reuters) - Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services Inc (ISS) on Wednesday recommended that Toshiba Corp shareholders vote for Effissimo Capital Management's proposal for an independent probe into the Japanese industrial conglomerate.

Toshiba has been embroiled in a row with Singapore-based Effissimo Capital Management, which is calling for a third-party probe into the firm's annual general meeting (AGM) last year, arguing that the voting rights of several shareholders were compromised.

ISS said in a report seen by Reuters that Toshiba's internal investigation into the issue was "one-sided."

"It will be difficult to escape the impression that Toshiba conducted a perfunctory investigation in response to the allegations by Effissimo," the report said.

(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Edwina Gibbs)