Elliott goes nuclear in Southwest board fight

Catch up quick: Elliott launched its campaign in June, a few weeks after Southwest's annual shareholders meeting, calling for the airline's CEO and its Chairman to step down.

• Axios reported two weeks later that Southwest's bylaws give Elliott the option of calling a special shareholders meeting to replace board directors earlier than the next annual meeting.
• That's exactly what happened Wednesday. Details have yet to emerge on when that meeting will take place.

The other side: "The Southwest Airlines Board remains confident that the airline has the right Leadership Team in place to evolve the business and to lead Southwest Airlines forward," the company said in a statement.

• The company added that it tried to engage with Elliott to discuss board director candidates but the hedge fund went ahead with the proxy fight instead.
• Southwest currently has 15 directors.

What's next: The process to put a special meeting on the calendar can take months to sort out.

• Southwest will either brace itself for an off-season proxy fight or sign a peace treaty with Elliott to determine what the board will eventually look like.