Shareholder meeting advisory & solicitation compendium

Retail investors play a major role in stock markets today, propelled by a surge in investor activity that has continued to accelerate in a post-pandemic market. For public companies, this constituency group is a powerful, and necessary, force to harness.

Winning favorable vote recommendations from the proxy advisors, ISS and Glass Lewis, certainly make a company’s annual shareholder meeting easier. However, when faced with an adverse vote recommendation, issuers should know there are still options on the table. The window for action is tight though, so preparing in advance is critical. Issuers can begin thinking through the following steps, so they can quickly move into action should there be opposition to any ballot items.

Alliance Advisors receives this question often, and it was worth a deeper look.

If going back for shares two years in a row caused companies to lose support on their equity plan
proposals, then surely a company that asked shareholders to approve a new share increase six consecutive years would face a significant increase in ‘against’ votes over time.

M&A is a critical component of corporate growth and exit strategies. According to research by Morgan Stanley, M&A transactions could rise by half in 2024, with sectors as varied as banking and real estate enjoying a boost.