Shareholder

HSBC shareholder Ping An to vote for bank’s break-up at annual meeting -source

Reuters0

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC’s biggest shareholder Ping An is likely to vote in favour of splitting the bank up at its annual investor meeting on May 5, a source familiar with the Chinese insurer’s thinking said on Monday. The source said Ping An would vote in favour of two resolutions tabled by individual investor Ken Lui, which call for HSBC to restore dividends to 51 cents per share and to provide regular updates on the possibility of spinning off its Asia business. HSBC recommended that shareholders vote against the resolutions, and has, since Ping An began urging the spinoff

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Nike faces shareholder proposal on human rights

Reuters0

By Katherine Masters NEW YORK (Reuters) – Activist shareholder platform Tulipshare is calling on Nike to offer more transparency on working conditions in its supply chain. In a shareholder proposal released Thursday, London-based Tulipshare requested a report from Nike on whether its policies effectively address its stated equity goals and human rights commitments. The group, which owns 276 Nike shares and aims to help investors push for environmental and social commitments, asked Nike for information on the methodology and metrics used to track forced labor and wage theft risks. The proposal also calls on Nike to consider implementing model supplier

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US pharmacy chain CVS to bolster customer privacy protection after shareholder push

Reuters0

(Reuters) – CVS Health Corp will enhance its data privacy disclosures following a shareholder proposal that asked the pharmacy chain to address concerns around threats to customers’ reproductive health data, Arjuna Capital said. Arjuna Capital, a Massachusetts-based investment adviser and frequent filer of shareholder resolutions, said it has withdrawn its proposal from going to a vote at the company’s annual meeting this spring. Medication abortion has drawn increasing attention since the U.S. Supreme Court last June overturned its landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that had legalized abortion nationwide. “Shareholders are concerned data will be accessed without consumer consent by

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Apple Investors Reject Shareholder Proposal To Audit ‘Inclusion’ And ‘Diversity’ Policies

The Daily Caller0

Apple Investors Reject Shareholder Proposal To Audit ‘Inclusion’ And ‘Diversity’ Policies Jason Cohen on March 10, 2023 Apple’s shareholders rejected a proposal by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) at its annual shareholder meeting Friday to conduct an audit of its racial equity policies to determine whether they discriminate against certain employees. Apple’s Board of Directors recommended opposing the proposal, saying it “mischaracterizes Apple’s commitment to inclusion and diversity by suggesting that our policies promoting these goals are discriminatory.” The tech giant has placed an emphasis on building an “inclusive workforce” to foster a company culture where “everybody

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AMC shares up as judge sets April hearing in shareholder case

Reuters0

(Reuters) – AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc will face an April 27 hearing in a lawsuit claiming it circumvented shareholders who were against adding more shares, a Delaware chancery court judge ruled on Monday. AMC common shares were up by as much as 28% on Monday afternoon, while preferred shares were down around 4%. Vice Chancellor Morgan Zurn will hear from AMC investors who have accused the movie theater chain and several of its directors of violating state law by creating preferred shares in an attempt to “eviscerate” the voting power of common stockholders who had not supported issuing new shares.

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Hedge fund lobby group supports shareholder rights in Masimo case

Reuters0

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss NEW YORK (Reuters) – The hedge fund industry trade association MFA on Thursday backed an activist investment firm’s push to reverse “draconian” amendments to medical device company Masimo Corp’s bylaws, weighing in on one of investment world’s most closely watched legal cases. MFA on Thursday filed an amicus curiae, or friend of the court brief, to express “serious concerns” about the bylaws, arguing that if the court rules that they are enforcible, the provisions would have a direct negative impact on MFA’s members, their investors and stockholders more broadly.” The new requirements by Masimo Corp would force

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Capricorn CEO quits board, NewMed merger in balance after shareholder battle

Reuters0

By Muhammed Husain and Shadia Nasralla (Reuters) -Capricorn Energy’s chairperson, chief executive and three other directors have quit the board after weeks of shareholder pressure, led by activist investor Palliser Capital, to overhaul the British oil and gas producer’s leadership. Palliser and some of Capricorn’s biggest shareholders had also publicly opposed a planned merger with Israeli gas producer NewMed, with major proxy advisers recommending votes against the merger plan and Capricorn’s board. Chairperson Nicoletta Giadrossi, CEO Simon Thomson and three other directors stepped down from the board with immediate effect, Capricorn said on Tuesday. NewMed said in a statement following

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UniCredit CEO says 2022 shareholder payout could top 2021

Reuters0

MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s UniCredit may have room to pay out more to shareholders from 2022 earnings than the year before, potentially adding to rewards that were already among the most generous among European banks, its CEO said on Thursday. Speaking in Davos to Bloomberg Television, Andrea Orcel said credit losses were still shrinking despite the expected economic shock ahead from higher interest rates and the cost of living crisis. “We see the uncertainty, we all anticipate a potential shock but the indicators are all very good. The stock of non performing loans is going down and the cost of

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TUI boss: we are open to a big shareholder

Reuters0

BERLIN (Reuters) – Tourism company TUI is open to a new major shareholder after Russian billionaire Alexey Mordashov has been sidelined by European Union sanctions over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Chief Executive Sebastian Ebel said. Asked whether TUI was interested in a new shareholder, Chief Executive Sebastian Ebel told journalists on Monday evening: “The answer is relatively clear – yes.” He did not rule out the possibility of interest from Chinese investors, though made clear this was unlikely. “We should be careful about saying a Chinese shareholder is evil, or a Russian shareholder,” he said. Mordashov, who held around 30%

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TIM’s top shareholder Vivendi leaves board seat as it seeks governance changes

Reuters0

PARIS/MILAN (Reuters) – Telecom Italia (TIM) said its biggest shareholder Vivendi on Monday relinquished its board seat, as Italy’s new government weighed options to take control of the debt-laden former phone monopolist’s landline grid. Vivendi Chief Executive Arnaud de Puyfontaine resigned from the board amid discussions in Rome over ways to create a wholesale-only Italian broadband provider. Italy’s right-wing government is expected to resume talks with Vivendi and TIM’s No.2 shareholder, state lender CDP, on Jan. 25 after a round of negotiations last year failed to yield a deal. Meanwhile, TIM is looking to sell assets to reduce its debt

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Turquoise Hill delays shareholder meet on $3.3 billion Rio Tinto buyout

Reuters0

(Reuters) – Canadian miner Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd said on Tuesday it would delay by a week to Nov. 8 a special shareholder meeting to vote on a proposed takeover by Rio Tinto Plc following a request from the mining giant. Rio has proposed a $3.3 billion deal for Turquoise Hill shares it does not already own, seeking a 66% stake in Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, the world’s largest known copper and gold deposits. Rio raised its offer to C$43-per-share but still faces opposition from multiple parties including Turquoise Hill’s second-largest shareholder Pentwater Capital Management, as well as proxy advisor

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Credit Suisse confirms shareholder meeting for capital hike

Reuters0

ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse Group AG on Tuesday confirmed an extraordinary general meeting will take place on November 23 for shareholders to approve a proposed capital increase. The embattled bank is hoping to raise 4 billion Swiss francs ($4.01 billion) in fresh capital to fund its restructuring and pad its balance sheet following a string of scandals and losses. ($1 = 0.9982 Swiss francs) (Reporting by Noele Illien)

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No plans to oust Mediaset Espana CEO, top shareholder says

Reuters0

(Rewords 2nd paragraph) MILAN (Reuters) – The top investor of Mediaset Espana has no plan to oust Paolo Vasile from the role of CEO at the Spanish broadcaster, a spokesperson for MediaforEurope said on Monday, denying Spanish media reports. “No ousting of Paolo Vasile as CEO is underway,” the spokesperson said in a statement to Reuters, adding Vasile’s results over his tenure at the helm of the company are “extraordinary.” (Reporting by Elvira Pollina; Editing by Chris Reese)

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Shareholder, regulator pushback ended UBS-Wealthfront deal, SonntagsZeitung reports

Reuters0

ZURICH (Reuters) – Resistance from shareholders and United States regulators torpedoed Swiss bank UBS’s $1.4 billion bid for U.S. digital wealth management group Wealthfront, Swiss paper SonntagsZeitung reported, citing bank sources it did not identify. UBS and Wealthfront said last month they had agreed to terminate the deal that was expected to fast-track UBS’s growth in the U.S. market. UBS has declined to comment on why the transaction fell apart. Big shareholders were dissatisfied with the terms of the deal after tech stock valuations plunged as central banks began to tighten policy to fight inflation, and thought UBS could build

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AGL Energy’s top shareholder nominates four new board members

Reuters0

(Reuters) -AGL Energy’s top shareholder, Grok Ventures, nominated four additional directors to the Australian power producer’s board on Wednesday, a day before the company is scheduled to spell out plans for a new business strategy. Tech billionaire and green activist Mike Cannon-Brookes, via his private investment arm Grok Ventures, has been vying for more influence and control at AGL, pushing it to speed up the closure of its coal-fired plants and overhaul its strategy to focus on decarbonisation and renewable energy. AGL is set to announce details of the new strategy on Thursday. The current five-member board “would benefit greatly

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Faraday Future reaches agreement with shareholder, Chairperson Swenson to step down

Reuters0

(Reuters) – Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc said on Monday the electric-vehicle startup had reached an agreement with its largest shareholder to resolve a governance dispute, adding that Sue Swenson will step down as executive chairperson. The company said it had raised $100 million to start the production of its FF 91 electric luxury car, adding that Brian Krolicki will also step down Faraday Future’s board. The company, whose shares rose 30% in trading before the bell, said Adam He has been appointed as a new independent board member. Earlier this month, shareholder FF Top Holding sued Faraday Future seeking

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Deutsche Bank in $26.3 million shareholder settlement over Epstein, Russian oligarch ties

Reuters0

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank AG agreed to pay $26.25 million to settle a U.S. shareholder lawsuit accusing the German bank of lax oversight while doing business with risky, ultra-rich clients like Jeffrey Epstein and Russian oligarchs. The preliminary all-cash settlement filed on Friday in federal court in Manhattan requires approval by U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff, who in June allowed the proposed class action to proceed. Shareholders led by Yun Wang, who traded Deutsche Bank stock in 2018 and 2020, claimed that the bank had known its know-your-customer and anti-money laundering controls were ineffective, and

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Faraday Future shareholder sues EV startup for removal of two directors

Reuters0

(Reuters) – Faraday Future Intelligent Electric shareholder FF Top Holding has sued the electric vehicle startup seeking the removal of two board members, according to a court filing, escalating the battle for the revamp of the company’s board. The firm, which is yet to start production of its FF 91 luxury electric vehicle, has been under pressure from FF Top for the removal of executive chairperson Susan Swenson and board member Brian Krolicki. In a lawsuit filed at the Delaware Court of Chancery on Monday, the shareholder group – which has an over 20% stake in the firm and about

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Franklin discussed GIM vote with shareholder -court filings

Reuters0

(Reuters) – The operator of the Templeton Global Income Fund early this year discussed plans with its second-largest investor that made it more difficult for the fund’s largest investor to wrest control of the closed-end fund, court filings suggest. The previously undisclosed discussions between executives at Franklin Resources Inc’s Franklin Templeton unit and First Trust Portfolios emerged due to litigation with Saba Capital Management, an activist investment firm and the fund’s largest shareholder. Saba, a New York-based hedge fund run by Boaz Weinstein,appeared to have won control of the Templeton fund’s board at aJune 6 election, but the fund filed

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Spain’s Abengoa wins dismissal of U.S. shareholder lawsuit alleging fraud

Reuters0

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit by Abengoa SA shareholders accusing the Spanish engineering and energy company of conducting a massive accounting fraud between 2013 and 2015 that masked a liquidity crisis and culminated in bankruptcy. U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos in Manhattan rejected claims, including from a whistleblower, that Abengoa routinely inflated profit margins and prematurely recognized revenue from contracts in order to boost executive bonuses. In a 56-page decision, Ramos said Abengoa did not mislead shareholders by publicly touting its “strict financial discipline,” and said receipt of performance-based bonuses

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EV startup Faraday Future refutes claims made by top shareholder

Reuters0

(Reuters) – Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc on Monday refuted claims made by the electric vehicle startup’s largest shareholder regarding its rights as a stakeholder. Earlier this month top shareholder FF Top called for a special meeting to remove Brian Krolicki from Faraday Future’s board. The EV startup said FF Top breached a shareholder agreement by soliciting investors to vote in favor of removing Krolicki. FF Top did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Faraday Future has called for a special shareholder meeting, but a date hasn’t been set yet. FF Top, which has a stake of about

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Energy bonanza drives shareholder payouts to new record

Reuters0

By Lucy Raitano LONDON (Reuters) – Energy companies reaping record profits from soaring oil and gas prices have helped global dividend payments to shareholders soar above pre-pandemic levels and to a record quarterly high, data showed on Wednesday. Oil and gas firms, including state-controlled giants in Latin America, accounted for more than two-fifths of the growth in dividend payments in the three months to end-June, according to fund manager Janus Henderson’s latest global dividend report. Banks freed from pandemic-era restrictions on dividends were behind a similar share of the growth in payouts, while consumer firms such as automotive manufacturers also

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Aussie coal miners eye record profits, shareholder returns as prices surge

Reuters0

By Tejaswi Marthi and Harish Sridharan (Reuters) – Australia’s biggest listed coal miners are expected to report record annual profits this week, underpinned by soaring commodity prices, even as they grapple with tight labour market conditions and inflation-induced cost pressure. Global coal prices have shot up over fears of a supply crunch after the European Commission decided to ban imports from Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, while persisting supply-chain issues are likely to keep prices elevated. That prompted Whitehaven, Australia’s largest independent coal miner, to forecast record fiscal 2022 core earnings last month. Analysts polled by Refinitiv estimate it

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Credit Suisse top shareholder asks for investment bank overhaul – Bloomberg News

Reuters0

(Reuters) – Credit Suisse Group AG’s top shareholder Harris Associates has asked the Zurich-based lender to fix its investment bank unit or seek other options, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Harris Associates last week disclosed a stake of more than 10% in Switzerland’s second-largest bank, after previously holding 5.2%. If Credit Suisse is unable to find ways for the investment bank business to earn sustainable returns in the next year or two, it would have to explore other options including a sale, spin-off or a merger, said David Herro, the chief investment officer of Harris Associates, in an interview to

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HSBC urged to appoint shareholder Ping An to its board

Reuters0

By Selena Li HONG KONG – A Hong Kong politician has urged HSBC spin off its Asia business and appoint representatives of Chinese insurer Ping An to its board, as the global lender prepares to meet with Hong Kong shareholders this week. Ping An Insurance Group Co of China Ltd, the bank’s biggest shareholder, called on London-headquartered HSBC in April to explore strategic options such as spinning off its mainstay Asian business to unlock greater shareholder value. Since then, the proposal has won support from some retail investors in Hong Kong who were disgruntled with dual-listed HSBC’s decision to cancel

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