June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Rohm Co., a Japanese maker of semiconductor components, won shareholder support against a demand from Brandes Investment Partners LP for a stock buyback.

Investors voted down the U.S. investor’s proposal at a general meeting in Kyoto today, Rohm spokesman Kohei Nozato said by telephone.

San Diego-based Brandes, which holds a stake of about 6 percent, in April urged Rohm to buy back 15 billion yen ($157 million) worth of stock, arguing the company’s 311 billion yen holdings in cash and securities were excessive.

Rohm bought back 91.5 billion yen worth of shares during the four years ended March 2008, according to the Kyoto-based company. It said no further buyback was necessary as its dividend payout this year, at about 1.5 times estimated net income, is higher than its peers.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tomoko Yamazaki in Tokyo at tyamazaki@bloomberg.net; Yoshinori Eki in Tokyo at yeki@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: June 25, 2009 23:31 EDT