GROUP FIVE MEETING
JSE gets tough on boards that drag their heels
Leaving aside some gaffes in the notice to shareholders dealing with the coming extraordinary general meeting, Group Five’s handling of Allan Gray’s demand meeting reflects a slight improvement on previous practice by JSE companies. The meeting is scheduled to take place in 50 working days after the fund manager requested it, which seems unnecessarily and value-destroyingly long, but is still an improvement on what has happened previously to shareholders who resorted to exercising their rights to call a shareholders’ meeting. In 2014, Foord Asset Managers got very little for its three-month, high-profile battle with the PPC board. But even that was better than what happened to ConvergeNet shareholders back in 2012. They issued a section 61 meeting demand and then had to follow it up with letters and threats of legal action before a meeting was held four months later. Section 61 of the Companies Act provides for shareholders with at least 10% of the voting rights to call for a meetin...
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