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PRESENTATION BY: ABC CHINAKE SENIOR PARTNER KANTOR & IMMERMAN
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Most of us here either attend or prepare for general meetings of members or owners of a company or entity in which we are associated at least once a year.
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I will focus on an annual general meeting of a public company in this discussion, BUT I will also adress parastatals and state enterprises.
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Apart from the ordinary business of the AGM, I have also selected special business, which will assist us in the discussion.
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Parastatals and state enterprises Preparation: None required Outcomes: CASH BERT for life
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Typical Annual General Meeting Agenda: 1.Presentation adoption of annual reports submitted by directors; 2.Election and re-election of directors; 3.Appointment of external auditors; 4.Perennial renewal of share buyback approval; 5.Appointment or re-appointment of auditors; 6.Transaction of any business in respect of which special notice has been given UNDER THE ARTICLES OF THE COMPANY; 7.Share buyback – perennial renewal; 8.Employee and management share option scheme – creation of and allotment of shares; 9.Rights offer; 10.Approval of company borrowings of USD 58 million.
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How do you prepare for such a Meeting?
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Common failings in preparation: Not knowing the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company; Not reading the annual reports, focusing on qualifications and the notes of auditors; The chairman and board of directors not reading the annual reports and preparing for the meeting on the basis that there will be contentious issues; Taking shareholders for granted; Not engaging Regulators in obtaining approvals, where required.
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election and/or appointment of directors: i)eligibility; ii)Suitability; iii)Provisions of the M&A’s limiting the number or size of the board of directors; iv)Catagorisation of each director in the correct compartment, i.e. re-election or a new election being ratified. Examples from the above resolutions approval of financial statements – poison pill in mergers and acquisition activity. Without the approval a company may have to be wound up; Approval of directors’ remuneration – unreasonable or unusually high directors’ remuneration will not be approved at members’ meetings. May also be coupled with a call for the resignation of affected directors. Looting mentality still prevails; Shareholder activism increasing in this area.
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Company Borrowings Many companies are borrowing beyond their authorized limit. The limits are found in the Memorandum and Articles of Association. Most M&A’s require ratification of such unauthorized borrowings. Impact on validity of the loan and its recoverability. Invites personal liability for directors. Affects going-concern status.
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Management and Employee Share Option Schemes are now regulated by the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange Rules and also Indigenisation has provisions that may conflict with the ZSE provisions – need to ensure that management and Employee Share Option Scheme dovetail neatly between the two pieces of legislation; Share buyback resolutions must comply with the ZSE Regulations in terms of maximum number of shares to be bought back and the method of calculating the pricing for such shares; There is also a requirement to disclose the number of shares bought back in the prior period; Unless you ABSOLUTELY control the company, don’t spend more money on buybacks and in paying dividends.
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Per-culia zimbabwe risks
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Rights Offer: Ensure that you have sufficient shares under the control of directors; If the shares are not available, you need a special resolution to increase the authorized share capital of the company; Pricing – the number of shares to be issued must be disclosed; Rights Offer must be approved by the ZSE and SEC; A circular is also required.
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Filing of Proxies Key yangu handichayiwone !!:
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General Observation: Proxy management poor: Ensure the chairman has or holds as may of the shares through proxy as possible; Ensure that as many members file their proxies on time as possible; Carry out your own internal calculation of the potential vote, based on the proxies at hand; Scenario planning re: vote by show of hands or through a poll; Prepare adequately for a poll and have competent transfer secretaries or scrutineers, being the company’s auditors, to carry out the process.
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Siyabonga - thank you
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