May 12, 2022 | Editor: Martin Wennerström
TotalEnergies faces shareholder pressure to boost climate targets
A group of TotalEnergies shareholders has requested that the firm tighten its greenhouse gas reduction targets to better align its climate strategy with the Paris Agreement. The proponents contend that the proposal would make Total the first oil and gas firm to align its 2030 targets with the agreement’s 1.5°C goal. The firm opposes the proposal, arguing that it encroaches on the board’s legally defined prerogatives. In response, the proponents have called on French regulator AMF to ensure that the item appears on the agenda. The firm has nevertheless announced new disclosure commitments and proposed an advisory shareholder vote on an annual sustainability and climate report, which would focus on the company’s energy transition strategy and implementation.
Activist investor pushes back AGL demerger
SEC probes Didi Global over its U.S. IPO
Nikkei | Straits Times| Barron's | Didi|
Investor sues Netflix over subscriber growth figures
A Netflix shareholder is suing the firm for allegedly misleading the market about its subscriber count, seeking monetary damages on behalf of shareholders who owned Netflix shares between October 19, 2021, and April 19, 2022. The shareholder, a Texas-based investment trust, claims that Netflix failed to inform investors about the declining subscriber growth and the loss of subscribers on a net basis. Notably, in April the firm’s share price dropped 35% in one day after reported earnings showed 200,000 lost subscribers in Q1. The firm has attributed its underperformance to increased competition, inflation, and the suspension of its Russian services.
Recent Content
Governance in Brief – May 25, 2023
Activist investor pushes for leadership and strategy changes at NRG Energy Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has disclosed a 13% stake in the US-based NRG Energy and called for leadership and operational changes at the company to remedy its “meaningful underperformance.” The investor urged NRG to add independent directors with experience in the power and energy sector to its board, noting that it has already identified five executives to guide the operational and strategic changes.
Governance in Brief – May 19, 2023
EU court sides with Ryanair on Lufthansa’s 2020 bailout. The EU General Court, the second-highest court in the EU, has annulled the European Commission’s decision on the approval of state bailout for Deutsche Lufthansa prompted by the 2020 pandemic. The judgment found the EC erroneously considered that Lufthansa could not obtain financing on the markets and failed to ask for the implementation of an incentive mechanism for the airline to buy back the German Government’s stake.
Governance in Brief – May 11, 2023
JPMorgan Chase takes over failed First Republic Bank JPMorgan Chase has acquired the assets and deposits of First Republic Bank after California authorities seized and auctioned the troubled lender. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”), an independent governmental agency established to maintain financial stability through the insurance of banks’ deposits, took possession of First Republic Bank after the lender suffered a severe liquidity crisis following the failure of SVB and Signature Bank earlier in March.
Governance in Brief – May 4, 2023
TotalEnergies sells Canadian oil sands operations to Suncor TotalEnergies has announced that it will sell its Canadian operations to Suncor Energy, in an agreement worth up to CAD 6.1 billion (USD 4.47 billion). The French energy giant had originally planned to exit Canadian oil sands by spinning off TotalEnergies EP Canada, but later agreed to instead sell the operations after having received unsolicited offers from both Suncor and other parties.