Tag archives: shareholder proposal

Kingsdale Releases 2018 Proxy Season Review

Kingsdale Advisors has released its annual Proxy Season Review for 2018. The Review examines trends observed in 2018, predicts issues on the horizon, and provides advice to both issuers and activists in the marketplace. In what follows, we pick out just a few of the important trends that emerge from Kingsdale’s analysis. The complete report … Continue reading

SEC provides guidance on shareholder proposals and expands boards’ responsibilities

By Lauren Day on December 21, 2017 Posted in Shareholder Activism

On November 1, 2017, the staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) provided important guidance to companies and shareholders on how Staff will evaluate arguments to exclude shareholder proposals from proxy materials. Among other considerations, the Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I (CF) (the Bulletin) deals primarily with the “ordinary … Continue reading

Policy activists get tough on climate change

By Matthew Lau (Toronto) on April 11, 2016 Posted in Shareholder Activism

As we previously predicted in a 2014 article, The Rise of Policy Activists?, policy activism in Canada is gaining speed. In this year’s upcoming proxy season, a hot topic for policy activists is the potential transition to a global low-carbon economy. Canada is currently working towards a national climate change plan and one of the … Continue reading

The CCGG makes a push for enhanced proxy access

By Trevor Zeyl on June 2, 2015 Posted in Corporate Governance

The Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG) recently released its much anticipated policy paper on “proxy access”, a term which refers to shareholders’ conceptual right to nominate directors and have those nominees placed on management’s ballot. The CCGG takes the position that this right, which is supplemental to a shareholders right to elect directors, “is … Continue reading

M&A Activism 101: Top 3 Tips for Companies

By Andrea Brewer on May 7, 2015 Posted in Shareholder Activism

There is a wide range of issues that a board and management team must face in considering an M&A transaction in the normal course. Increasingly however, a company that is considering a potential merger or acquisition, or asking its shareholders to consider such a transaction, needs to be aware of the motivations of the stakeholder … Continue reading

2014 Q3 Proxy Update

By The Special Situations Team on October 30, 2014 Posted in Corporate Finance, Corporate Governance, Litigation, M&A, Proxy Battles, Restructuring, Securities, Shareholder Activism

The 2015 proxy season is fast approaching, PwC and Broadridge released a quarterly research report which reviews proxy related data from 4,113 shareholder meetings held between January 1 and June 30, 2014 and highlights several themes and trends that may inform how shareholders and companies will interact on four key issues: Director Elections: Director elections continue to attract widespread … Continue reading

Shareholders Shaking Up Japan

By Trevor Zeyl on July 15, 2014 Posted in Corporate Governance, Proxy Battles, Securities, Shareholder Activism

A Japanese research firm suggests that there may be a record 14 shareholder proposals (all with the intention of creating higher returns) that will be made in the next few weeks as annual general meeting season begin in Tokyo and elsewhere. Why is this surprising? In the past it has been uncommon for shareholders in … Continue reading