Governance

CANADIAN UPDATE – Bill S-285: A Canadian Contribution to the Stakeholder Governance Debate

If adopted, Bill S-285, and in particular its proposed amendments to section 122 of the CBCA, would transform the CBCA’s approach to a corporation’s stakeholders from an incidental consideration to a central one, whereby the benefits provided to various stakeholders would no longer derive from pursuing the best interests of the corporation, but would instead form part of the corporation’s purpose, enshrined in law, and would be protected through redefined directors’ and officers’ duties.

This article was authored by Franziska Ruf (Partner), Sébastien Roy (Partner) and Maïté Murray (Senior Knowledge Management Lawyer) of Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP (Montréal).

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JAPANESE UPDATE – A Pioneering Unsolicited Takeover in Japan: Nidec’s 2023 Acquisition of Takisawa

*Originally distributed on February 26, 2024.  In July 2023, Nidec Corporation, the largest motor manufacturing company in the world and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (“TSE”) Prime Market, proposed to acquire and take private Takisawa Machine Tool Co., Ltd., which specializes in manufacturing machine tools and is listed on the TSE Standard Market. Remarkably, … Continued

This article was authored by Masakazu Iwakura (Senior Partner), Hidenori Nakagawa (Partner) and Masanori Bito (Partner) of TMI Associates. They appreciate the valuable assistance of Vincent Tritto, a Foreign Attorney at TMI.

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DUTCH UPDATE: National security screening for investments – new Dutch regime up and running

National security screening for investments – new Dutch regime up and running Various geopolitical drivers have contributed to the proliferation of investment screening regimes that are based on national security concerns. Existing screening regimes have been expanded to include additional target activities. The EU has also been nudging member states to establish similar investment screening … Continued

This newsletter was co-authored by Stephanie The (Partner), Arne Grimme (Partner) Arjan Kleinhout (Partner) and Bart de Rijke (Partner) at De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek.

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Nature as an Asset: The Coming Wave of “Natural Capital” and Biodiversity Shareholder Activism and Stewardship Pressure on Boards of Directors

*Originally distributed on December 16, 2022. As anticipated in our February 2021 memo, the terms “natural capital,” “biodiversity,” “nature loss,” “ecosystem restoration” and the like have increasingly entered the investor and corporate lexicon.  This has accelerated since the publication of The Economics of Biodiversity:  The Dasgupta Review, the groundbreaking independent study commissioned by the U.K. … Continued

Editors’ Note: This memo was authored by Sabastian V. Niles, Carmen X. W. Lu and Allison Rabkin Golden at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.

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ESG – ACTIVISM – GOVERNANCE UPDATE: Carbon, Caremark, and Corporate Governance

*Originally distributed on May 27, 2021.  Developments this week highlight the urgent imperative for boards and management teams to address climate-related challenges as part of their regular risk assessment practices: A Dutch court held Royal Dutch Shell partially responsible for global warming and ordered the company to reduce its carbon emissions. Engine No. 1, an … Continued

Editors’ Note: This memo was authored by William D. Savitt, Sabastian V. Niles and Sarah K. Eddy at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

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Some Thoughts for Boards of Directors in 2021

Some Thoughts for Boards of Directors in 2021 Martin Lipton, Steven A. Rosenblum, Karessa L. Cain, Hannah Clark and Bita Assad Many of the challenges that corporations and their boards have encountered in 2020 will continue to be front and center in 2021, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the movement to address racial injustice and broad-based … Continued

Editor’s Note: This article was co-authored by Martin Lipton, Steven A. Rosenblum, Karessa L. Cain, Hannah Clark and Bita Assad of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz

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U.S. UPDATE – Bracing for the “Antitrust” Tech Storm

The widely reported lawsuit against Google, brought this week by the Department of Justice and 11 state attorneys general, marks the most significant antitrust enforcement action in the United States against a major technology company in two decades.  As set out briefly below, the suit warrants careful consideration, both for what it alleges and what … Continued

This article was co-authored by Ilene Knable Gotts (Partner), Ronald C. Chen (Partner) and Kevin S. Schwartz (Partner) at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz (New York).

Ilene is a partner in the Antitrust Department. She is regularly recognized as one of the world’s top antitrust lawyers, including being recognized by “Euromoney’s Women in Business Law” with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019.

Ron is a partner in the Corporate Department. He is also a Lecturer in Law at Stanford Law School, where he teaches a course on Mergers and Acquisitions, and Co-Chair of the International Bar Association’s annual conference on Mergers and Acquisitions in the Technology Sector.

Kevin is a partner in the Litigation Department. He serves on the Executive Committee of the New York City Bar Association, where he was previously Chair of the Judiciary Committee, and is also a Visiting Lecturer in Law at Yale Law School.

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IRISH UPDATE: Key Issues for Irish Listed Companies when Considering Shareholder Activism

The volatility in global markets caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic uncertainty has put activist shareholders and defending against opportunistic bids at the top of the agenda for listed companies. We have set out below 14 key considerations relating to shareholder activism that Irish-incorporated listed companies should be focused on in the current … Continued

Editor's Note: Brian O’Gorman is a Partner in Arthur Cox's Corporate and M&A group. He has advised on many of the largest and most high profile Irish M&A transactions over the past 20 years. Kate Hogan is an Associate at Arthur Cox.

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DANISH UPDATE: Nasdaq Introduces a Common Nordic Main Market Rulebook for Issuers of Shares

Nasdaq has introduced a “Nordic Main Market Rulebook for Issuers of Shares” (the “Rulebook”), comprising Nasdaq Copenhagen, Nasdaq Helsinki, Nasdaq Iceland and Nasdaq Stockholm (the “Exchanges”). The Rulebook entered into force on 1 May 2020 and is comprised of two parts. The first part is a harmonized set of rules applicable to issuers of shares … Continued

This article was co-authored by Dan Moalem (Partner) and Henning Hedegaard Thomsen (Senior Associate) at Moalem Weitemeyer Bendtsen (Copenhagen)

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FRENCH UPDATE: Revised Key Topics for Boards of Directors and Senior Management in Relation to the COVID-19 Crisis

This is a revised summary version of our initial client memos regarding the crisis. In his speech on March 16, President Macron stated, “we are at war,” six times.  Since then, businesses continue to assimilate and react to the radical changes that have occurred over the last weeks.  The government and various regulators, including the … Continued

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