Group Press Releases
Institutional Shareholders Express Public Support for Aegis Ahead of EGM
08 November 2006
Aegis Group plc (“Aegis”) announces that it has received letters from leading institutional shareholders expressing their support for the Aegis Board in its opposition to the resolutions put forward by Groupe Bolloré. The resolutions, which propose that two Groupe Bolloré nominees be appointed to the Aegis Board, will be voted on at an extraordinary general meeting on 22 November 2006.
The signatories are Fidelity International, Standard Life, Henderson Global Investors, Hermes and Aberdeen Asset Management. In addition, six other large shareholders have given their support to the content and issue of the letters. Together the 11 institutions account for over 23% of Aegis’s equity.
In the letters received by Aegis, the institutions all write: "We note that the resolutions are identical to those proposed and voted down at the Annual General Meeting less than six months ago. In that vote, 45% of all Aegis shareholders voted against the two resolutions proposed, with 94% of the votes not controlled by Groupe Bolloré being cast against. We regret that the company is being obliged to face the same resolutions again so soon."
"We retain our previous view that the resolutions are not in the interests of the company's shareholders as a whole and should be voted against. Board nominations by a shareholder who has significant influence at a direct competitor to the company are not appropriate, no matter how large that shareholder's interest in the company.
“We believe that this is a sufficiently important matter of corporate governance to merit making the contents of this letter public.”
Lord Sharman, Chairman of Aegis, said:
"It is highly unusual for institutional shareholders to express their views so publicly, uniformly and clearly, well ahead of a vote. This reflects the strength of their feeling on the point of principle involved, as well as their frustration at the time and expense for all parties so soon after the Annual General Meeting. 70% of our shares are in the hands of investors other than Groupe Bolloré. We urge every one of these shareholders to follow the lead set by our largest institutions by voting to defeat these resolutions."
For further information contact:
Charlotte Elston
Aegis Group plc
+44 (0) 20 7070 7700
Tim Spratt / Charles Palmer
Financial Dynamics
+44 (0) 20 7831 3113
