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	<title>IGOPPActivisme &#8211; IGOPP</title>
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		<title>L’incertitude économique aide les actionnaires activistes</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/lincertitude-economique-aide-les-actionnaires-activistes/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/lincertitude-economique-aide-les-actionnaires-activistes/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2025 19:11:37 +0000</pubDate>
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				<category><![CDATA[IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Activisme]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/?p=18674/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Les pétrolières Parkland Oil et BP sont les plus récents exemples d’entreprises qui doivent faire face aux assauts d’actionnaires activistes. Selon un rapport de la banque Barclays, le nombre de campagnes lancées par ces fonds spéculatifs est en hausse cette année à la faveur d’un marché incertain et volatil. L’objectif des actionnaires activistes est d’augmenter [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[

Les pétrolières Parkland Oil et BP sont les plus récents exemples d’entreprises qui doivent faire face aux assauts d’actionnaires activistes. Selon un rapport de la banque Barclays, le nombre de campagnes lancées par ces fonds spéculatifs est en hausse cette année à la faveur d’un marché incertain et volatil.


L’objectif des actionnaires activistes est d’augmenter la valeur d’une entreprise en provoquant des changements au sein de la société. Cela peut aller de la nomination de membres différents au conseil d’administration à la proposition de fusionner l’entreprise à une autre ou de la diviser en plusieurs sociétés.

Les activistes sont soumis à très peu de réglementation, donc ils peuvent y aller avec plusieurs stratégies de communication, des communiqués de presse, des attaques publiques, des rencontres d’information..., explique Alexandra Langelier, vice-présidente exécutive à l’Institut sur la gouvernance d’organisations privées et publiques (IGOPP).

Ces campagnes peuvent avoir des effets positifs à court terme, mais présentent des risques à long terme pour la santé de l’entreprise.

Parfois on a un arrêt de la recherche-développement, ce qui peut avoir aussi un effet pervers à plus long terme, parce qu’on a moins de capacités d’innover dans le futur, moins de capacités de pouvoir faire face à de la concurrence qui elle aura continué à innover. On peut aussi penser à du désinvestissement pour les mesures de protection de l’environnement, souligne Mme Langelier.

Pour écouter l'entrevue complète d'Alexandra Langelier, veuillez cliquer sur ce lien [1].

[1] https://ici.radio-canada.ca/ohdio/premiere/emissions/la-croisee/segments/rattrapage/2070516/rendez-vous-energie-avec-tiphanie-roquette?utm_medium=email&#38;utm_content=FNFr6wXswq5MpitnNzEKvmuR04a7XcGNSDorQ94PDU2rylOpOklnqSnUxkLH8WK6]]></content>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Gildan Les dirigeants pourraient empocher des millions, si l’action double</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/gildan-les-dirigeants-pourraient-empocher-des-millions-si-laction-double/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/gildan-les-dirigeants-pourraient-empocher-des-millions-si-laction-double/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Apr 2025 02:29:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[L’IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activisme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Rémunération des dirigeants]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/?p=18382/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[[&#8230;] Revenu à la tête du fabricant montréalais de vêtements après un bref congédiement de quelque mois, le fondateur de l’entreprise, Glenn Chamandy, pourrait ainsi toucher une prime pouvant aller jusqu’à environ 60 millions US, si la cible est atteinte dans les délais prescrits. Le conseil d’administration attribue une valeur de 13 millions US à cette prime conditionnelle dans [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[[...]
Revenu à la tête du fabricant montréalais de vêtements après un bref congédiement de quelque mois, le fondateur de l’entreprise, Glenn Chamandy, pourrait ainsi toucher une prime pouvant aller jusqu’à environ 60 millions US, si la cible est atteinte dans les délais prescrits.
Le conseil d’administration attribue une valeur de 13 millions US à cette prime conditionnelle dans le cas de M. Chamandy, mais celle-ci pourrait être plus élevée, si toutes les conditions sont remplies. Au total, sa rémunération est estimée à 26,9 millions US en 2024.
« Il y a un potentiel d’appréciation beaucoup plus élevé [que 13 millions US], mais il y a un potentiel que ce soit zéro aussi », constate le président-directeur général de l’Institut sur la gouvernance d’organisations privées et publiques (IGOPP), François Dauphin.
L’expert de la gouvernance juge que l’objectif est « ambitieux ». Il souligne que l’investisseur activiste Browning West, qui a soutenu M. Chamandy après son congédiement en décembre 2023, avait mis de l’avant des cibles ambitieuses pour convaincre les actionnaires de le réintégrer dans ses fonctions au printemps dernier.
« Donc, en quelque part, il y a une certaine cohérence avec le discours, puis l’argumentaire qui a justifié la bataille de procuration », estime M. Dauphin.
En gouvernance, il y a toutefois un risque à ne prendre seulement que le cours de l’action en compte, prévient le professeur et codirecteur du Centre d’études en droit économie de l’Université Laval, Ivan Tchotourian.
Cela pourrait être un incitatif à prendre des décisions à court terme afin de gonfler le prix du titre, mais défavorable à l’entreprise à long terme, selon lui. « On sait bien que des décisions à très court terme peuvent, à moyen terme ou à court terme, affecter la pérennité de l’entreprise éventuellement, voire même mettre en danger l’investissement des actionnaires, mais sur une perspective plus longue. »
[...]
Une lutte coûteuse pour les actionnaires
La guerre de procuration entre Browning West et l’ancien conseil d’administration, qui a congédié M. Chamandy, a coûté 89 millions US aux actionnaires, selon des informations contenues dans le rapport annuel de la société.
La somme pourrait être plus élevée puisque dix anciens administrateurs de Gildan poursuivent l’entreprise pour 25 millions. Leurs arguments n’ont pas encore passé le test des tribunaux.
L’ancien président et chef de la direction, Vince Tyra, a reçu une indemnité de départ de 15,9 millions US. Il a remplacé M. Chamandy pendant cinq mois.
M. Dauphin estime que l’indemnité de départ est compréhensible tandis que l’homme d’affaires a accepté un poste à l’avenir incertain. « Il savait qu’il s’en venait pour un job qui était sous attaque avec une probabilité non négligeable de perdre son emploi quelques mois après son entrée en poste. »
Lire la suite [1]

[1] https://igopp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/GI2AF11.pdf]]></content>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Démission du C.A. et départ du PDG: Glenn Chamandy pourra reprendre les commandes de Gildan</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/demission-du-c-a-et-depart-du-pdg-glenn-chamandy-pourra-reprendre-les-commandes-de-gildan/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/demission-du-c-a-et-depart-du-pdg-glenn-chamandy-pourra-reprendre-les-commandes-de-gildan/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 24 May 2024 02:16:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[L’IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Actionnaires]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activisme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chef de la direction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Investisseurs institutionnels]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/?p=16980/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[La passation des pouvoirs peut débuter chez Gildan. Le conseil d’administration et le PDG du fabricant montréalais de vêtements ont plié bagage jeudi soir, évitant ce qui s’annonçait comme une défaite humiliante au terme d’une course aux procurations. Cinq mois après avoir été congédié de façon inattendue, Glenn Chamandy pourra retrouver le poste de PDG [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[La passation des pouvoirs peut débuter chez Gildan. Le conseil d’administration et le PDG du fabricant montréalais de vêtements ont plié bagage jeudi soir, évitant ce qui s’annonçait comme une défaite humiliante au terme d’une course aux procurations.

Cinq mois après avoir été congédié de façon inattendue, Glenn Chamandy pourra retrouver le poste de PDG de l’entreprise dont il est le cofondateur.

Tous les membres du conseil d’administration de Gildan démissionnent et le PDG Vince Tyra a quitté ses fonctions à la fin de la journée jeudi. L’entreprise a aussi annoncé avoir mis un terme aux discussions entourant le processus de vente annoncé précédemment.

« Les actionnaires ont clairement exprimé leur position », a fait savoir Gildan en ajoutant que les administrateurs sortants estiment qu’il était dans l’intérêt de toutes les parties prenantes qu’ils démissionnent et ne sollicitent pas le renouvellement de leur mandat à l’assemblée de mardi prochain afin de permettre au nouveau conseil d’entrer en fonction et de superviser ainsi les activités de l’entreprise de la manière la plus ordonnée et efficace possible.

Le conseil sortant a nommé au conseil d’administration les candidats proposés par la firme d’investissement américaine Browning West, cet actionnaire institutionnel qui menait une cabale depuis décembre pour renverser le congédiement de Glenn Chamandy.

« Les actionnaires ont parlé. Glenn Chamandy fera son retour par la grande porte », commente le président de l’institut sur la gouvernance, François Dauphin. « Le nombre de procurations reçues devait déjà confirmer un résultat défavorable pour les candidats du conseil sortant », précise-t-il.

Ce coup de théâtre survient quelques jours seulement avant ce qui aurait été le point culminant de l’une des plus grandes batailles de procuration jamais menées au Canada.

Le conseil d’administration d’une des plus grosses entreprises du Québec Inc. était confronté par plusieurs de ses actionnaires institutionnels qui faisaient pression depuis plusieurs mois.

Browning West a indiqué jeudi que selon les résultats préliminaires, l’écrasante majorité des droits rattachés aux actions ont été exercés en faveur de ses huit candidats avant la démission du conseil.

Les huit candidats de Browning West aux postes d’administrateur composeront donc le nouveau conseil d’administration de Gildan et seront les seuls candidats aux postes d’administrateur qui se présenteront mardi à l’élection lors de l’assemblée annuelle des actionnaires.

Browning West n’a jamais relâché la pression sur le conseil d’administration pour convaincre le plus d’actionnaires possible du bien-fondé de sa démarche. Le conseil d’administration avait réagi à chaque geste, exhortant les actionnaires à le soutenir jusqu’à jeudi.

Les actionnaires dissidents avaient reçu un coup de pouce de taille dans les derniers jours. Trois agences indépendantes de conseils en vote (ISS, Glass Lewis et Egan-Jones) ont tour à tour accordé leur appui à la liste de candidats présentée par Browning West.

Lire la suite [1]

[1] https://igopp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/D%C3%A9mission-du-C.A.-et-d%C3%A9part-du-PDG-_-Glenn-Chamandy-pourra-reprendre-les-commandes-de-Gildan-_-La-Presse_Mai-2024.pdf]]></content>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>« Gildan says allegations by key shareholder Browning West violated U.S. securities law »</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/gildan-says-allegations-by-key-shareholder-browning-west-violated-u-s-securities-law/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/gildan-says-allegations-by-key-shareholder-browning-west-violated-u-s-securities-law/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Mar 2024 02:13:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[L’IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Chef de la direction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Relève]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/?p=16646/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[« Gildan Activewear is accusing one of its largest shareholders of violating American securities law and has asked the regulator to investigate allegations that the investor has been spreading falsehoods about the Montreal-based clothing maker’s new chief executive, Vince Tyra. In a letter sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, Gildan alleged that [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[« Gildan Activewear is accusing one of its largest shareholders of violating American securities law and has asked the regulator to investigate allegations that the investor has been spreading falsehoods about the Montreal-based clothing maker’s new chief executive, Vince Tyra.
In a letter sent to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission late Thursday, Gildan alleged that U.S. investment fund Browning West made “false and highly prejudicial personal attacks against Mr. Tyra and the board” as part of its campaign to take control of Gildan’s board of directors and remove Mr. Tyra as CEO. Browning West wants Glenn Chamandy reinstalled as chief executive.
The move is an escalation of an increasingly vicious battle between Gildan and Browning West, which this week saw each side issue public statements condemning the other.




Specifically, Gildan has accused Browning West of mischaracterizing the nature of a relationship Mr. Tyra had with a female executive at Gildan, which occurred 20 years ago and at a different company.




On Wednesday, Browning West issued a statement raising questions about whether Gildan’s board had properly considered whether “Mr. Tyra’s seemingly inappropriate relationship with a subordinate” would create “undue conflicts and risk for Gildan shareholders and employees.”
Gildan alleged in its letter to the regulator that Browning West has violated a section of the securities act that bans individuals from making untrue or misleading statements in connection with the purchase or sale of a security.
Gildan pointed to a recent story published in the New York Post – which recounted information contained in a report from management-analysis company Paragon Intel – that alleged Mr. Tyra had an affair with the female subordinate. Browning West said it had no involvement in the Paragon Intel report.
However, Mr. Tyra and the female executive – Patti Lambert Simetz, who is Gildan’s vice-president, distributor sales – told The Globe and Mail that the Post story was a mischaracterization of the relationship.
Both Mr. Tyra and Ms. Simetz said they dated briefly in 2002 during a period when they were both single. The three-month relationship was not an office secret and there were no rules about interoffice romances. After splitting, the pair remained friends, although as their careers took them in different directions, they did not stay in regular touch.
On Wednesday, Gildan accused Browning West of planting the Post article.
[...]
François Dauphin, chief executive of Montreal’s Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations, said this week marked the beginning of an acrimonious phase of a proxy fight.
“Digging into the past of targeted individuals is a tactic frequently used by shareholder activists, whose objective is to keep the debate present in the media and in the public eye, and in this case to discredit the current CEO and those who named him,” he said.
However, Mr. Dauphin noted that investors seemed unfazed by the Tyra relationship narrative, with Gildan’s stock up about 2 per cent on both the New York and Toronto stock exchanges since the Post article went online Tuesday night.
The fight will come to a head in May when shareholders will be asked to vote on the future of the company. »
Lire la suite [1]

[1] https://igopp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Gildan-says-allegations-by-key-shareholder-Browning-West-violated-U.S.-securities-law-The-Globe-and-Mail_March-2024.pdf]]></content>
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		<item>
		<title>Gildan convoque ses actionnaires en assemblée le 28 mai</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/gildan-convoque-ses-actionnaires-en-assemblee-le-28-mai/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/gildan-convoque-ses-actionnaires-en-assemblee-le-28-mai/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jan 2024 21:26:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[L’IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Activisme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chef de la direction]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/?p=16414/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Une semaine après avoir mis en doute la légitimité de l’actionnaire dissident Browning West à pouvoir demander la tenue rapide d’une assemblée, Gildan convoque ses actionnaires pour une assemblée annuelle et extraordinaire le 28 mai. Le fabricant montréalais de vêtements entendait néanmoins présenter lundi une demande en jugement déclaratoire auprès d’un tribunal du Québec pour faire [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[Une semaine après avoir mis en doute la légitimité de l’actionnaire dissident Browning West à pouvoir demander la tenue rapide d’une assemblée, Gildan convoque ses actionnaires pour une assemblée annuelle et extraordinaire le 28 mai.
Le fabricant montréalais de vêtements entendait néanmoins présenter lundi une demande en jugement déclaratoire auprès d’un tribunal du Québec pour faire déclarer la demande de convocation de Browning West comme nulle et déclarer par conséquent l’assemblée extraordinaire des actionnaires annulée.
Le conseil continue de prétendre que Browning West a enfreint une loi antitrust américaine en bonifiant sa participation dans Gildan au point de pouvoir demander une réunion des actionnaires. Browning West assure que la loi Hart-Scott-Rodino n’a pas été violée, car l’entité détenant les actions de Gildan n’est pas constituée aux États-Unis et que Gildan n’est pas une société ayant son siège social aux États-Unis.
Le fonds de couverture américain avait demandé à Gildan le 9 janvier d’organiser sans tarder une assemblée pour tenir un vote afin de reconstituer le conseil d’administration pour ramener Glenn Chamandy au poste de PDG après son congédiement survenu le 10 décembre.
La dernière assemblée des actionnaires de Gildan s’étant déroulée en mai dernier, le conseil d’administration de Gildan dit avoir décidé de combiner les assemblées annuelle et extraordinaire pour « éviter des assemblées multiples saisies de questions similaires et des situations où il y a un risque véritable de semer la confusion parmi les actionnaires et d’entraîner un certain désengagement de leur part ».
Puisque la demande de convocation formulée par Browning West vise à reconstituer la majorité du conseil dans le but de prendre le contrôle de l’entreprise, Gildan insiste sur l’importance d’accorder à tous les actionnaires un « délai raisonnable » pour évaluer la proposition de Browning West et bien la comprendre.
Le conseil soutient aussi que la date du 28 mai donnera aux actionnaires l’occasion d’évaluer les qualités de leadership de Vince Tyra – le successeur de Glenn Chamandy – à titre de chef de la direction de Gildan afin qu’ils puissent prendre la décision « la plus éclairée possible » quant au choix de la personne qui représente le meilleur dirigeant pour diriger l’entreprise.
La décision de tenir l’assemblée à la fin mai s’inscrit dans une certaine logique aux yeux du président de l’Institut sur la gouvernance, François Dauphin.
« C’est à l’intérieur d’un délai qui semble tout à fait raisonnable pour donner la possibilité de voter aux actionnaires en ayant le plus d’information possible, notamment sur le nouveau PDG Vince Tyra, mais aussi sur les résultats annuels. Il y aura des documents qui permettront de se faire une idée en ayant la tête un peu plus froide suite aux récents développements. »

[...]
Gildan dit par ailleurs avoir offert à Browning West de tenir une rencontre avec Vince Tyra et a demandé à rencontrer les candidats proposés par Browning West afin de mieux comprendre leurs points de vue et la pertinence de leurs compétences. Le conseil affirme que Browning West s’est refusé jusqu’ici à toute communication entre ses candidats et le conseil.
Le conseil a destitué Glenn Chamandy en justifiant sa décision par des divergences liées au plan de succession et en soulignant qu’il souhaitait aller de l’avant avec une stratégie d’acquisitions risquée de plusieurs milliards de dollars.
Browning West souhaite remplacer 8 des 11 administrateurs en poste. Les départs souhaités sont ceux de Donald Berg, Maryse Bertrand, Marc Caira, Shirley Cunningham, Charles Herington, Luc Jobin, Craig Leavitt et Chris Shackelton.
Une dizaine d’actionnaires institutionnels indépendants, contrôlant environ 35 % des actions de Gildan, ont publiquement exprimé leur opposition au congédiement de Glenn Chamandy.
Lire la suite [1]

[1] https://igopp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Gildan-convoque-ses-actionnaires-en-assemblée-le-28-mai-_-La-Presse_Janvier-2024.pdf]]></content>
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		<item>
		<title>« Gildan to hold shareholder meetings in late spring for board of directors vote »</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/gildan-to-hold-shareholder-meetings-in-late-spring-for-board-of-directors-vote/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/gildan-to-hold-shareholder-meetings-in-late-spring-for-board-of-directors-vote/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Jan 2024 14:56:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/gildan-to-hold-shareholder-meetings-in-late-spring-for-board-of-directors-vote/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[« Canadian clothing maker Gildan Activewear Inc., GIL-T locked in a fight with dissident investors over its decision to sack its chief executive officer in December, is convening its shareholders in late spring to vote on whether they want a new board. The company says the timeline for the meeting on May 28 will give investors “a [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[« Canadian clothing maker Gildan Activewear Inc., GIL-T [1] locked in a fight with dissident investors over its decision to sack its chief executive officer in December, is convening its shareholders in late spring to vote on whether they want a new board.
The company says the timeline for the meeting on May 28 will give investors “a reasonable period” to evaluate the dissidents’ plan for the company while providing more opportunity to judge the competence of the new CEO brought in by the board, Vince Tyra. U.S. investment fund Browning West, which is leading the dissidents, called it an “attempt to buy time for a seemingly unqualified chief executive officer with a record of value destruction.”
Montreal-based Gildan is under pressure from Browning West and other shareholders to hold a meeting as soon as possible to consider bringing in a new board that would back the return of former CEO [2] Glenn Chamandy. Gildan says Mr. Chamandy sought to entrench himself as CEO and that giving him his job back would jeopardize the company’s future because he’s no longer up to the task.
Browning wants a majority of Gildan’s current 11-director board out. Earlier this month, it made a formal request to the company for a special meeting so investors can vote on the investment fund’s own slate of candidates, which is supported by five institutional shareholders.
Gildan responded Monday and says it has called two shareholders meetings for May 28, one a special meeting and the other an annual meeting. But the clothing maker says it will seek a court ruling on whether the Browning West requisition is legal. If a judge rules in Gildan’s favour, the company would hold just an annual meeting that day and drop the special meeting. Browning could still try to get its directors elected at the AGM.
“Over the last few weeks, the company has heard from numerous shareholders, both those who have indicated preliminary support for Browning West and those who have not,” Gildan said in a news release. “The board and shareholders are aligned in the view that a speedy resolution of this unnecessary proxy contest is in the best interests of the company and its shareholder owners.”
The timing of the May meeting isn’t sitting well with at least two shareholders, who could mount a legal challenge to it.
Browning West blasted the board for setting a date that will come nearly five months after it submitted its special meeting requisition. “It appears the board has learned nothing from its recent string of ill-conceived decisions and publicity stunts, which seem to have only succeeded in alienating shareholders,” the firm’s founders said in a statement.
Toronto-based Turtle Creek Asset Management echoed that view. “The board’s tactics are just another slap in the face of Gildan’s long-term shareholders,” the firm said in an e-mailed statement.
Gildan has held its last eight annual general meetings at the end of April or in the first week of May, meaning this year’s May 28 AGM would come later than normal.
“We do have a sense of urgency here on the activist side,” said François Dauphin, chief executive of Montreal’s Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations. “Every hour, every week that goes by makes the possibility of getting Mr. Chamandy back at the helm that much harder.”
Gildan said it “remains ready and willing” to engage with Browning West and other shareholders to find a resolution to the dispute. It said while it has offered the investment fund an opportunity to meet with the new CEO, it has not been offered access in turn to Browning’s director nominees.
The decision to hold the shareholders meeting in May takes into account statements by investors expressing support for a spring meeting and a desire to limit disruption to the business, Gildan said. Combining a special meeting with an AGM on the same day avoids having two meetings within a month or two of each other that would address similar issues, Gildan said.
On the question of whether the Browning West meeting requisition is legitimate, Gildan wants a court to decide. The company said it would file an application for declaratory judgment to the Quebec Court on Monday seeking a ruling that the Browning West requisition is null and void. »
Lire la suite [3]

[1] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/stocks/GIL-T/
[2] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-gildan-ceo-shareholders-stock/
[3] https://igopp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Gildan-to-hold-shareholder-meetings-in-late-spring-for-board-of-directors-vote-The-Globe-and-Mail_January-2024.pdf]]></content>
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		<title>« How obeying an activist investor can destroy value »</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/how-obeying-an-activist-investor-can-destroy-value/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/how-obeying-an-activist-investor-can-destroy-value/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Aug 2022 22:36:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[L’IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activisme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fonds de couverture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/?p=16851/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[« [&#8230;] If you ever needed a reminder about how M&#38;A can be value destructive, look no further than Just Eat Takeaway’s $7.3bn acquisition of US rival Grubhub. The Netherlands-based company on Wednesday said it had to write down by €3bn the value of Grubhub, effectively admitting its consolidation strategy has failed. There are two [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[« [...]

If you ever needed a reminder about how M&#38;A can be value destructive, look no further than Just Eat Takeaway’s $7.3bn acquisition of US rival Grubhub.

The Netherlands-based company on Wednesday said it had to write down by €3bn the value of Grubhub, effectively admitting its consolidation strategy has failed.

There are two lessons from this.

The first is that bigger isn’t always better. JET and Grubhub believed that by creating economies of scale they could reap huge rewards. But dealmaking is tough and most mergers fail, as this study shows.

Several rigorous academic papers have also determined that combining companies has historically led to value destruction rather than creation. This paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that US takeovers have led to losses worth more than $200bn for shareholders over the past two decades.

The second lesson is that the short-term strategies of activist investors are often detrimental to the broader interests of the company and long-term shareholders. In fact, this paper [1] by Yvan Allaire at the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations in Montreal shows how activists underperform passive funds. »

Lire la suite [2]

[1] http://www.shareholderforum.com/access/Library/20150401_Allaire.pdf
[2] https://igopp.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Financial-Times_How-obeying-an-activist-investor-can-destroy-value_August-2022.pdf]]></content>
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		<title>« Regulations to rein in short-sellers must not overlook the good they do »</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/regulations-to-rein-in-short-sellers-must-not-overlook-the-good-they-do/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/regulations-to-rein-in-short-sellers-must-not-overlook-the-good-they-do/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jan 2020 19:49:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[L’IGOPP dans les médias]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activisme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Éthique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fonds de couverture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/?p=12386/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[« A thick hide is a necessary qualification for the job of activist short-seller. When Spruce Point Capital Management released a negative report on Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. in late 2019, it prompted Yvan Allaire, the executive chair of the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations, to fire back in the Financial Post: [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[« A thick hide is a necessary qualification for the job of activist short-seller. When Spruce Point Capital Management released a negative report on Canadian Tire Corp. Ltd. in late 2019, it prompted Yvan Allaire, the executive chair of the Institute for Governance of Private and Public Organizations, to fire back in the Financial Post: “What one never finds in these short-seller hatchet jobs is concern for anything other than a quick profit.” This was followed with several suggestions for reining in short-sellers.

Mr. Allaire is not the only one proposing restrictions – indeed, there appears to be an upswing in such calls from a number of sources recently. The danger here is that the urge to impose new regulations could go too far and choke off the good things that academic studies have found short-sellers provide to financial markets.

Only seven campaigns were launched in Canada by activist short-sellers in 2019, according to financial data firm Breakout Point. This was the lowest tally since financial analytics firm Activist Insight began keeping records in 2015: In most of those years, the number of new campaigns ranged from 19 to 22. It appears some short-sellers may have gone to the sidelines during 2019 to wait out the bullish tide flowing through the stock market.

[ ... ]

Even though Canada’s activist short sales plunged last year, the count was still higher than in other countries, excluding the United States. Indeed, Canadian firms have been disproportionately targeted for several years: From 2015 to late 2019 there were 76 campaigns, compared with 17 in Australia and 57 in the European Union.

Activist short-sellers on the ropes

Perhaps the most notable of recommendations to curtail-short sellers came in a November report released by law firm McMillan LLP. It claimed that the regulatory framework in Canada for short-sale trades was “out of step” with other countries and some tightening up was needed to make it more difficult to engage in abusive transactions, particularly naked short-selling (which can result in illegal situations where the number of short sales exceeds the actual number of tradable shares).

The regulator in charge of trading rules, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, however, has pointed out that its studies have found little evidence of abusive short-selling in Canada. Moreover, assessments of IIROC’s regulatory framework by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank concluded that it met international standards.

Several other sources have forwarded their own proposals. They include bringing back the uptick rule (short sales can only be made on an uptick in share price), giving companies civil remedies to combat “short and distort” campaigns, and having institutional investors cut back on lending securities to short-sellers. (Companies can currently sue short-sellers on a criminal basis but civil remedies would be preferable because of their lower burden of proof.) »

Lire la suite [1]

[1] https://igopp.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Regulations-to-rein-in-short-sellers-must-not-overlook-the-good-they-do-The-Globe-and-Mail_Januray-2020.pdf]]></content>
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		<title>« The Angels of Market Efficiency »</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/the-angels-of-market-efficiency/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/the-angels-of-market-efficiency/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jan 2020 15:02:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles d’actualités]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activisme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fonds de couverture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gouvernance américaine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Investisseurs institutionnels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Législation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/?p=12249/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[« Mr. Ben Axler, Chief Investment Officer and founder of Spruce Point Capital responds (Financial Post, December 17th, 2019) to my article on short sellers of his kind (Financial Post, December 13th, 2019). He trots out the worn-out argument that short sellers only reveal the sordid truths hidden in the bosom of corporations. In short, [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[« Mr. Ben Axler, Chief Investment Officer and founder of Spruce Point Capital responds [1] (Financial Post, December 17th, 2019) to my article [2] on short sellers of his kind (Financial Post, December 13th, 2019). He trots out the worn-out argument that short sellers only reveal the sordid truths hidden in the bosom of corporations.

In short, “professional” short sellers are sort of the guardian angels of market efficiency acting as a countervailing force to the fawning, relentlessly positive and often corrupted recommendations of sell-side analysts! Indeed, sell-side analysts tend to see glasses as half-full; for short sellers, glasses are always empty and… dirty.

The consequences of short-sellers’ actions may be dramatic. The near collapse of the financial system in 2008 owed a good deal to the savage, incendiary role of short selling (particularly of the “naked” sort). The book “On the Brink”, written by Hank Paulson, U.S. Treasury Secretary at the time of the financial crisis, makes clear the noxious role played by short sellers during that frightening period. That’s what angels of market efficiency do!

Mr. Asler invites me to share with him what I find wrong in their report on Canadian Tire. Much, too much for a short article but an overarching theme would be the relative ignorance of the Canadian retail market that pervades their report. Spruce Point Capital assumes the competitive and buying behavior of Canadians are identical to Americans. That assumption has proven costly in a number of instances (Think Target, Kmart, Sam’s Club, Best Buy, Sears). Similarly, Canadian retailers which crossed over to the US market were often taught a painful lesson about the differences between the two markets.

So, Spruce Point Capital’s report on Canadian Tire (CT) is insensitive to the particular nature of the Canadian retail and financial markets. It keeps comparing CT unfavourably to Amazon and Walmart as the be-all, end-all of retailing. That myopic American perspective may explain the case of Dollarama.

Barely a year ago in October 2018, Spruce Point Capital launched a virulent campaign against Dollarama producing a long negative report to buttress its claim that the stock price of Dollarama should or would drop from $46 to $28; the stock price actually leveled off briefly at $31 in December 2018 from which level it soared back to above $45.

I made two basic points in my earlier piece, which bear repeating.

1. Canada is a benign place to practice financial/casino capitalism as our regulators never adopted either of the two following measures put in place in the USA. As a consequence of the financial crisis, the SEC has clamped down on “naked” short selling, the practice of selling shares but delaying the delivery of the shares for as long as possible in the hope of buying back the shares at a much lower price without incurring the cost of borrowing shares from other holders. Also, in 2010, the SEC introduced a measure whereby if the price of a security falls by more than 10 per cent, transactions in the stock are stopped for the remainder of the day and all of the following day.

2. Large institutional investors with a significant position in a company have, or should have, the analytical wherewithal to assess public claims made by short sellers against this company. If they find those claims to be illfounded or even false, they should state so publicly instead of, as is the case now, letting the company fend off the attack by itself. And these large institutional funds should not lend their shares to short sellers of the Spruce Point Capital ilk.

Should Canada let American short sellers roam free and wreak havoc in our financial markets? To ask the question is to answer it. »

&#160;

Les opinions exprimées dans ce texte n’engagent que son auteur.

[1] https://business.financialpost.com/opinion/counterpoint-short-sellers-like-us-create-real-value-for-public-markets-by-telling-canadian-investors-the-truth
[2] https://igopp.org/limiting-the-damage-of-short-sellers/]]></content>
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		<title>« Limiting the damage of short-sellers »</title>
		<link>https://igopp.org/limiting-the-damage-of-short-sellers/</link>
		<comments>https://igopp.org/limiting-the-damage-of-short-sellers/#respond</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 13 Dec 2019 15:56:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[IGOPP Site web]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Articles d’actualités]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Activisme]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Éthique]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gouvernance américaine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Investisseurs institutionnels]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Parties prenantes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://igopp.org/limiting-the-damage-of-short-sellers/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[« When any individual investor or fund comes to the conclusion after careful analysis that a company is over-valued, it may very well sell short the shares of that company. Fair enough. If the analysis proves right, facts on the ground will confirm it eventually and the stock price will drop. But that’s not the game [&#8230;]]]></description>
		<content><![CDATA[« When any individual investor or fund comes to the conclusion after careful analysis that a company is over-valued, it may very well sell short the shares of that company. Fair enough. If the analysis proves right, facts on the ground will confirm it eventually and the stock price will drop.

But that’s not the game plan of “professional” short-sellers. These funds produce a wholly negative report about a targeted company, which they broadcast widely to media, analysts, and investors in the hope of producing a stampede of shareholders exiting the company’s stock. The result usually is a sharp drop in price as a kind of self-fulling prophecy. The short seller then buys the stock back at this much lower price and sails into the sunset with a bundle of cash.

Several countries (Japan, France, Germany, Italy) are considering ways and means to curtail the ability of activist funds to inflict damage to their industrial structure. Japan’s huge Government Pension Fund has suspended all loans of shares to short-sellers; if all Canadian institutional funds were to adopt such a policy, it would drive way up the price of borrowing shares to short-sell and make it more difficult to carry such operations profitably.

France is proposing to lower the threshold for reporting holdings of shares in a company from 5% to 3%. (Canada is a laggard and an outlier in this respect with a threshold of 10%; USA=5%; UK=3%). Furthermore, in the UK, short sellers must make their position public when it reaches 0.5% of outstanding shares and must include all derivatives in the computation of that ratio.

In the U.S., the SEC has clamped down on “naked” short selling, the practice of selling shares but delaying the delivery of the shares for as long as possible in the hope of buying back the shares at a much lower price without incurring the cost of borrowing shares from other holders. The SEC has instituted a “Hard T+3 Close-Out Requirement” imposing a three-day limit on stock delivery after a sale. No such restriction has been put in place in Canada.

Also, short selling could not be carried out if the last transaction had not been executed at a price higher than the previous transaction (the “uptick” rule). This rule was dropped in the U.S. in 2007 and in Canada in 2012. However, in 2010, the SEC introduced a modified tick test that is triggered for the remainder of the day and all of the following day if the price of a security falls by more than 10 per cent. This modified tick test was never adopted in Canada. (Activist short-sellers are increasingly targeting Canadian companies — is Canada ready? Financial Post, Barbara Shecter, October 6th 2017

Canada is thus a benign place to practice financial/casino capitalism. The features of this sort of capitalism are in full display at Spruce Point Capital, the American hedge fund and serial aggressor of Canadian companies. This fund practices the dark art of short selling. Barely a year ago in October 2018, Spruce Point Capital launched a virulent campaign against Dollarama. It produced a report to buttress its claim that the stock price of Dollarama should or would drop from $46 to $28; the stock price actually leveled off at $31 in December 2018 from which level it soared back to above $45.

It is fair to assume that Spruce Point Capital bought back shares it had short-sold at $46, making a hefty profit of some $15 per share in a period of some 2-3 months! But what about those shareholders who believed Spruce Point’s “demonstration” and sold their shares on the way down only to find that they had been helping  unwittingly) a financial scheme, losing a large amount of money in the process. Should they not have a claim, a basis for a class action, against Spruce Point Capital? Why are activist hedge funds permitted to publicly and with impunity disparage any company, to spread innuendoes (“possibly misleading accounting”, “potential shenanigans”), and to carry “ad hominem” attacks on officers or
board members?

The same process, the same modus operandi, is on display at the most recent Canadian target of Spruce Point Capital: Canadian Tire is “An Antiquated And Structurally Non- Competitive Brick And Mortar Retailer With No Clear Focus And No Competitive Advantage” claims Spruce Point in a report of 108 unreadable pages made public on the morning of December 5th (“Kicking the tire down the road”).

Although there may be kernels of truth in their analysis, the report throws everything but the kitchen sink at the reader and in the process throws mud at an Executive Vice-President and the Chairwoman of Canadian Tire.

What one will never find in these hack jobs is any concern for the environment and the society at large or for stakeholders other than shareholders. Yet, almost all institutional investors have now adopted strategies that put a high priority on Environment and Society, on long-term investment horizon and due consideration for all stakeholders of a company. Given this solemn commitment, why would these institutional investors support and abet the shenanigans of activist hedge funds whose sole focus is on short-term profit?

Large institutional investors with a significant position in a company have, or should have, the analytical wherewithal to assess public claims made by short sellers against this company. If they find those claims to be ill-founded or even false, they should state so publicly instead of, as is the case now, letting the company fend off the attack by itself. And these large institutional funds should not lend their shares to short sellers of the Spruce Point Capital ilk.

Canadian securities authorities and institutional fund managers should adopt some ways and means to limit the nefarious activities of activist funds, particularly the short-selling kind: more transparency, better regulations, enhanced constraints, self-discipline by institutional investors. »

Les opinions exprimées dans ce texte n’engagent que son auteur.
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