display
Frankfurt / Main (dpa) - According to shareholder representatives, the rights of shareholders are also severely restricted this year at the online general meetings.
"There are only gradual improvements," said the spokesman for the German Association for Protection of Securities Holdings (DSW), Jürgen Kurz, the German press agency.
Only a few companies such as Deutsche Bank or Bayer made it possible for shareholders to post online questions about their previously submitted questions during the meeting.
"Many companies, on the other hand, do not go beyond the legally prescribed minimum, although more would be possible."
Because thousands of people usually come together at the annual shareholder meetings, the legislature allowed for the first time last year, due to the corona pandemic, to hold general meetings online without changing the articles of association beforehand.
Due to the ongoing pandemic, the federal government extended the special regulation for virtual shareholder meetings until the end of 2021.
display
Shareholders can submit questions in writing up to the day before the meeting for companies to answer. "However, shareholders have no legal means of taking action against this if their question is not answered," explained the DSW spokesman.
According to Kurz, it is practically impossible to contest resolutions of the general meeting if the shareholders cannot ask questions. “It's a very pleasant situation for the company's legal departments”. The DSW is fundamentally in favor of the management board, supervisory board and owners of the companies physically meeting again at the meetings after the end of the pandemic. "The pandemic must not lead to shareholder rights being curtailed," warned Kurz. A combination of face-to-face event and online format is conceivable. In this case, however, all shareholders would have to have the same rights.
At a general meeting, the shareholders vote on, among other things, the distribution of the dividend, possible capital increases or elections to the supervisory board.
It is also about the discharge of the board of directors and the supervisory board for the past financial year.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210424-99-333632 / 2