Ann Arbor-based Borders Group Inc. today gave its chief executive officer and largest shareholder the right to gain more control of the company.

Shareholders approved a proposal to grant CEO Bennett LeBow's LeBow Gamma Limited Partnership the right to purchase 35.1 million shares of the company's stock at $2.25 a share.

The stock purchase warrant proposal was part of a deal LeBow received in May when he agreed to invest $25 million to buy 11.1 million shares of the company's stock.

If LeBow decides to acquire the 35.1 million additional shares, Borders shareholder and New York hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management would be given the right to acquire an additional 8.6 million warrants for a total of 26 million total shares.

If all those warrants were exercised, LeBow would own 35 percent of the company, and Pershing would own 31 percent, Borders spokeswoman Mary Davis said recently.

However, Borders shares closed down $1.19 today, which means that if LeBow wants to exercise his warrants, he'd be paying a premium of nearly 100 percent.

Also today, Borders shareholders agreed to a stipulation that would require the LeBow Gamma Limited Partnership to approve any changes to the company's executive leadership. That means LeBow effectively cannot be fired.

LeBow has not yet spoken to the media or said anything publicly about his vision for the struggling company since taking over executive leadership of the firm. Mike Edwards, CEO of Borders Group subsidiary Borders Inc., has been the public face of the firm.

Borders Group reported earlier this month that its second-quarter sales slipped 11.5 percent to $526.1 million, and its net loss was $46.7 million. The company has conducted two rounds of layoffs at its Ann Arbor headquarters this year and is believed to have fewer than 600 workers there.

Contact AnnArbor.com's Nathan Bomey at (734) 623-2587 or nathanbomey@annarbor.com. You can also follow him on Twitter or subscribe to AnnArbor.com's newsletters.