Financial Times (May 12)
There’s little obvious business sense to Pfizer’s proposed takeover of AstraZeneca. Strategically, there’s not much to be gained aside from effecting a change of tax domicile. “Pfizer’s dealmaking history is moreover a deeply dispiriting one…. Despite having spent some $240bn on three big acquisitions since 2000, its market capitalisation is just $185bn today. Meanwhile the Dow Jones index is more than 40 per cent higher.” AstraZeneca’s directors must proceed warily. This is about more than the potential short-term profit to existing shareholders.
Tags: Acquisitions, AstraZeneca, Dealmaking, Directors, Dow Jones, Market-cap, Pfizer, Profit, Shareholders, Short term, Strategy, Takeover, Tax domicile
The Economist (February 15, 2014)
“Rule changes have made activism easier and therefore more commonplace. Nor is it restricted to America: shareholder activism is gaining in popularity around the world, in places such as Japan and continental Europe, where it was once unknown.” While there are instances where activists cause damage in pursuit of short-term gains, “recent academic studies suggest that, by and large, activists are good for companies. An analysis of around 2,000 interventions in America during 1994-2007 found not only that the share prices and operating performance of the firms involved improved over the five years after the intervention, but also that the improvement was greatest towards the end of the five-year period.”
Tags: Activists, Europe, Improvement, Japan, Performance, Popularity, Rules, Share prices, Shareholders, Short-term gains
Washington Post (May 5, 2013)
“Part rock concert, part investment workshop, the annual gathering of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders is an odd mix.” This year about 30,000 people attended what has become known as “Woodstock for capitalists.” During an annual highlight, Chairman Warren Buffet and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger participated in over 5 hours of Q&A. This year, “the questions seemed somewhat tougher and more detailed because of the addition of a panel of investment professionals, including Doug Kass, who has a negative view on Berkshire’s stock.” The wide-ranging questions also came from shareholders, journalists and analysts.“Part rock concert, part investment workshop, the annual gathering of Berkshire Hathaway shareholders is an odd mix.” This year about 30,000 people attended what has become known as “Woodstock for capitalists.” During an annual highlight, Chairman Warren Buffet and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger participated in over 5 hours of Q&A. This year, “the questions seemed somewhat tougher and more detailed because of the addition of a panel of investment professionals, including Doug Kass, who has a negative view on Berkshire’s stock.” The wide-ranging questions also came from shareholders, journalists and analysts.
The Economist (March 9)
“The annual shareholder proxy season now getting under way in America could be the liveliest ever. The bosses of Apple and Disney have drawn flak not only for their strategies but also for their pay. Activist shareholders are on the march. About time, too…. Trying to improve the way a firm is run is more constructive than the traditional ‘Wall Street walk’, whereby disgruntled shareholders simply sell their shares.”
Tags: Activists, Apple, Disney, Pay, Proxy season, Shareholders, Strategies, U.S.
Businessweek (March 4)
“The Swiss government must figure out how to translate some of the world’s toughest rules on executive pay into national law and risk an exodus of big corporations after voters overwhelmingly backed new curbs in a referendum.” In addition to giving shareholders a binding vote on executive pay, the measure will crack down on golden handshakes and golden parachutes.
Los Angeles Times (September 2)
“A relentless focus on share price can hurt not only employees, taxpayers and society, but shareholders too. Managers who are pressured to raise stock price quickly often resort to tricks — selling assets, cutting payroll and investment, draining cash through dividends and share repurchase programs — to bump up stock price for a year or two. But such strategies often hurt a company’s long-term ability to grow and prosper.”
Financial Times (July 29)
Regulators need to achieve “a complete redesign of audits and the way auditors deliver them.” Currently, auditors provide questionable value. “Did auditors give shareholders any advance warnings about failures and losses at Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock, Anglo Irish, MF Global, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, AIG or Barclays? US companies spend nearly $50bn annually on the ‘Big Four’ (PwC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG) but the auditor rarely speaks or is questioned at annual meetings.”
Regulators need to achieve “a complete redesign of audits and the way auditors deliver them.” Currently, auditors provide questionable value. “Did auditors give shareholders any advance warnings about failures and losses at Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock, Anglo Irish, MF Global, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, AIG or Barclays? US companies spend nearly $50bn annually on the ‘Big Four’ (PwC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG) but the auditor rarely speaks or is questioned at annual meetings.”
Tags: Audits, Big Four, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC, Regulators, Shareholders
New York Times (June 27)
Japanese shareholders are “starting to show their teeth.” Shareholders have been unusually vocal at the annual general meetings of major Japanese companies this year. “Shareholder meetings this summer have been marked by a flurry of proposals from investors challenging the management—opposing board appointments, for example, or simply expressing anger at executives.”
Japanese shareholders are “starting to show their teeth.” Shareholders have been unusually vocal at the annual general meetings of major Japanese companies this year. “Shareholder meetings this summer have been marked by a flurry of proposals from investors challenging the management—opposing board appointments, for example, or simply expressing anger at executives.”
Tags: AGMs, Japan, Management, Proposals, Shareholders
Financial Times (June 20)
In the UK, “pay packages for FTSE 100 chief executives have quadrupled since 1998—from an average of £1m to £4.2m.” Shareholders have responded with “rebellions” at major companies including Aviva, Barclays and WPP. Now Business Secretary Vince Cable is also taking aim, promising “the most comprehensive reforms of boardroom pay for a decade by giving shareholders binding votes on pay policy and forcing companies to make executive pay more transparent.”
Tags: Binding vote, Executive pay, FTSE, Shareholders, UK, Vince Cable
Wall Street Journal (May 11)
In the 1980s, they were called “corporate raiders” and frowned upon. Things have changed. “Warren Buffett is financing an unsolicited takeover bid for Avon Products” and the reaction is calm. There is now uproar. This is progress. “A thriving open market for corporate control imposes discipline on managers and can provide relief for long-suffering shareholders.”
Tags: Avon, Corporate raiders, Shareholders, Warren Buffet
