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⭐UNDERSTANDING AND DEALING WITH HEDGE FUNDS AND SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM ACROSS EUROPE: THE IMPACT OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
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1 UNDERSTANDING AND DEALING WITH HEDGE FUNDS AND SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM ACROSS EUROPE: THE IMPACT OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS 2012 URÍA MENÉNDEZ BONELLI EREDE PAPPALARDO BREDIN PRAT DE BRAUW BLACKSTONE WESTBROEK HENGELER MUELLER SLAUGHTER AND MAY2 This guide is a joint product of leading independent law firms in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. UK: Slaughter and May Contact: Simon Nicholls One Bunhill Row London EC1Y 8YY T: France: Bredin Prat Contact: Florian Bouaziz 130, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore Paris T: Germany: Hengeler Mueller Contact: Carsten Schapmann Benrather Straße Düsseldorf T: Italy: Bonelli Erede Pappalardo Contact: Stefano Cacchi Pessani Via Barozzi, Milan T: The Netherlands: De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek Contact: Constantijn Voogt Claude Debussylaan MD Amsterdam T: Portugal: Uría Menéndez Proença de Carvalho Contact: Carlos Costa Andrade Rua Duque de Palmela, Lisbon T: Spain: Uría Menéndez Contact: Javier Illescas Príncipe de Vergara, 187 Plaza de Rodrigo Uría Madrid T: Important Note This guide is intended to provide a summary overview of certain important aspects of the law and regulation in the jurisdictions which it covers. The information contained in this guide is not intended to be used and must not be used as legal or taxation advice, either on general questions or on questions relating to any specific transaction or situation. The firms listed above would be pleased to provide advice upon request for general queries, as well as advice on specific transactions or situations. The information contained in this guide is given as at 31 December3 Contents Introduction 5 1. Hedge funds: an overview 7 2. The hedge fund sector during and after the 2008 financial crisis 8 3. Regulatory developments: hedge funds, short-selling and AIFMD Recent trends in the strategies and actions of shareholder activists 13 hedge funds and other investors 5. How corporates can prepare for and respond to an activist situation Conclusion 19 Appendix 1 UK 21 Appendix 2 France 43 Appendix 3 Germany 59 Appendix 4 Italy 75 Appendix 5 The Netherlands 87 Appendix 6 Portugal 99 Appendix 7 Spain 113 34 Understanding and dealing with hedge funds and shareholder activism across Europe: the impact of the financial crisis Introduction Hedge funds and the financial crisis Since the 2008 credit crunch, hedge funds and their managers have occupied a prominent position in the minds of commentators, regulators, politicians and, increasingly, the general populaces of Europe. They have consistently been first in line when criticism is handed out on grounds of short-termism, lack of transparency or a lack of connection with the real economy. At critical moments and especially during the 2008 financial crisis, their behaviour and trading strategies (short-selling, in particular) have been held up as exacerbating volatility and as contributing to, if not causing, systemic risk. At the same time, hedge funds have faced more challenging conditions in terms of fund-raising, investor support and performance. These conditions, together with various regulatory initiatives launched in or following the peak of the 2008 financial crisis principally, increased disclosure requirements and the much debated and lobbied Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) have impacted the strategies and operations of hedge funds along with their profile. Needless to say, economic conditions since 2008 have also produced a markedly different environment for other sorts of investor as well as, obviously, for the companies in which they invest. Impact on shareholder activism The various aspects of this changed economic environment have not dramatically shifted the overall incidence of shareholder activism, but they have undoubtedly changed the backdrop against which activist situations play out. Specifically, the lower profile of hedge fund activism through and since the financial crisis of 2008 seems to have coincided with an increase in activism from outside the hedge fund community both from institutional investors with a longer term investment horizon as well as from other, sometimes non-institutional, investors with a strategic agenda. Perhaps inevitably, creditor activism also seems to be on the rise as the financial crisis and economic conditions produce an increasing number of distressed situations. Pan-European trends and developments This guide takes a pan-european look at trends and developments through the 2008 financial crisis and in the period since, focusing on: the position of hedge funds: their behaviour, performance and strategies in that period, as well as the changed regulatory landscape they now face activist behaviour by both hedge funds and other investors during that period. Dealing with hedge funds and other shareholder activists The theme of this guide is that the key to dealing with hedge fund managers and other shareholder activists is to understand them and their differing motivations and objectives. A proactive and coherent ongoing strategy can then be formed and integrated into a corporate s normal investor relations practice. The same considerations are also likely to inform a corporate s response in the more acute situation that arises once an activist has arrived on the scene and taken positive action, whether private or public. 55 The guide concludes with a series of appendices looking country-by-country (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) at some of the main issues relevant to hedge funds and shareholder activist behaviour in those jurisdictions and covering: themes and developments in the activity of hedge funds and shareholder activists case studies giving examples of hedge fund activity key legal and regulatory issues rights of minority shareholders stakebuilding disclosure requirements (in particular when using derivatives). 66 1. Hedge funds: an overview 1.1 Hedge fund is not a term capable of exact definition. Most hedge funds are a form of collective investment vehicle, but this embraces many variants of both regulatory and legal structure. Perhaps the predominant common features are the use of leverage to create investing capacity and the use of derivative contracts with prime brokers as the preferred form of investment, with limited, if any, legal ownership of investments through a custodian. 1.2 Hedge fund managers are principally located in New York (approximately three-quarters) and London, although UK taxation and the increasing regulatory burden have led to a growing number having additional presences in readily accessible European low- or no-tax locations such as Geneva, Monaco, Zug, Montreux and the Channel Islands. At the same time, global economic shifts have seen offices open up in emerging market regions as growth prospects accessible from established markets have diminished. 1.3 Most hedge funds, as distinct from their managers, are located in low-tax off-shore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands. More recently, jurisdictions such as Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta have introduced local legal and regulatory regimes designed to give similar financial benefits within an EU domicile, leading some European investors to require, for essentially political reasons, that their funds be invested only in EU-domiciled funds. 1.4 Hedge funds are significant players in terms of the absolute size of assets under their management. Approximately $2 trillion of assets are estimated to be managed by hedge fund managers worldwide (excluding fund of funds assets). Perhaps more significantly, and this is particularly important in times of crisis, they punch above their weight in terms of trading frequency thus increasing their day-to-day impact on markets and prices. It has been estimated that hedge fund managers routinely account for more than 30 per cent. of daily trading activity on the New York Stock Exchange and more than half of trading on the London Stock Exchange. 1.5 Hedge funds can also be analysed in terms of investment strategies or objectives, with a fund manager typically seeking to out-perform (measured as alpha ) a benchmark for a fund s disclosed strategy (called beta ). However, this is not to exclude the traditional (and, with interest rates low, once again popular) absolute return fund a fund that seeks to deliver a steady increase in net asset value (NAV) regardless of the returns available from direct investment in the main securities markets. It was, after all, the capacity to deliver a return greater than the interest available on a bank deposit that led to the first hedging strategies being developed on Wall Street in the early 1940s. 1.6 Any particular hedge fund may be very hard to pigeon-hole or categorise specifically by reference to its investment strategy. That said, in broad terms, the following are the principal or traditional passive and activist hedge fund strategies: Market-neutral: a strategy designed to eliminate the market risk associated with investing in shares, concentrating the risk on the relative performance of the companies in which the fund manager wishes to invest. The fund manager will achieve this by buying exposure to company equity and short-selling an equivalent exposure to other companies in the same sector. Even if the market falls, the fund will make money provided the first company outperforms the others in the sector. Long/short equity: similar to a market-neutral strategy but without hedging the entirety of the market risk (and thus leading to a higher risk but greater potential returns). 77 Convertible/fixed income arbitrage: a technique that seeks to take advantage of price differences between convertible securities and the underlying shares. Event-driven merger arbitrage: taking a position in a company s securities with the expectation of profiting from a company-specific event typically a takeover. Event-driven distressed debt: taking a position in the debt of a company that is in financial difficulties with the expectation of making a profit as the company restructures and survives. 1.7 The large proportion of hedge funds adopt non-activist short-term trading strategies. Outside of event-driven funds focused on merger arbitrage or distressed debt situations, only a small minority of hedge fund managers are set up with explicit activist mandates: activism involves considerable expense, the prospect of reputational issues, and the risk of becoming an insider (when freedom to deal will be constrained by market abuse and insider dealing regimes). Any benefits gained will also have to be shared with other shareholders. However, event-driven investment strategies or tactics, even when not activist as such, can have a significant impact on corporates in the M&A world in particular by arbitrage in takeover situations, where the success of the bid or an increase in the offer price is integral to the hedge fund generating a profit over its, typically recent, entry price. Hedge fund activism or event-driven strategies can be equally keenly felt in distressed debt situations as the profile of the debt-holders shifts away from long-term holders towards investors with a shorter-term perspective and potentially narrower objectives. 2. The hedge fund sector during and after the 2008 financial crisis 2.1 The aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis saw a dash to cash, with many hedge fund managers experiencing significant falls in assets under management and redemption requests at unprecedented levels. The liquidity crisis highlighted disparities between investor redemption rights and portfolio marketability, with many hedge funds forced to reorganise or reconstruct after imposing gates (to limit redemptions) or introducing side-pockets (for illiquid assets, with investors entitled only to the net proceeds if and when a sale becomes possible). By June 2009, the sharp falls in worldwide stock markets coupled with net redemptions over the preceding nine months had resulted in assets under management in hedge funds falling significantly from the 2007 peak some estimates suggested by at least 30 per cent. As a result, some hedge funds were restructured as described above, while many other hedge fund managers, in particular smaller hedge fund managers, were absorbed by larger competitors or simply ceased to operate and closed down. 2.2 The continuing low level of interest rates and the lack of return from low-risk investments following the summer of 2009 meant that investment in hedge funds began to climb in the second half of 2009 and by summer 2011 assets under management were estimated to exceed the early 2008 high of approximately $1.9 trillion. Industry surveys in summer 2011 suggested institutional investors had earmarked further investment in the sector in the next 12 months. Those statistics illustrate a clear regaining of scale prior to the sovereign debt crisis of summer/autumn 2011, but beneath them is an interesting trend in terms of the changed shape of the hedge fund industry post-crisis. 2.3 Put simply, the trend is towards operations of scale. Just as the loss of scale during 2009 s market collapse and redemption wave primarily affected smaller hedge funds, so the principal beneficiaries of the scale regained in the period to summer 2011 were 88 the larger hedge funds. Growth in assets under management over the year to July 2011 at Europe s twenty largest hedge fund managers was estimated to have accounted for over 80 per cent. of the total growth in the sector in Europe. So whilst good relative performance was a primary indicator of growth of assets under management through investor in-flows across the sector (indeed, some might perceive an element of performance chasing, not always successfully, by investors), the combination of continuing risk-averse investor sentiment, increasing regulatory uncertainties and administrative costs seem to have accounted for that growth being concentrated disproportionately amongst the big, liquid and systemic brand names. 2.4 In terms of investment performance, hedge fund returns averaged 19 per cent. in 2009, the highest for a decade, and 11 per cent. in This came just one year after hedge funds posted their worst annual loss in the wake of falls in equity markets, short-selling bans and pressure to liquidate positions to meet margin and redemption calls. With market conditions improving, equity markets recovering and debt remaining extremely cheap, hedge funds saw positive performance across most strategies through and after 2010 until the sudden downturn in global markets began in August This called a halt to growth with some large losses and, once again, considerable uncertainty as to future performance, both immediately and in the longer term. 2.5 So, whilst by summer 2011 total assets under management were beginning to exceed previous highs and there had been some performance upsides, the question remains: will the sovereign debt crisis that began in 2011 trigger a new wave of redemptions and a precipitous fall in asset allocation to hedge funds over the coming months? Since the summer of 2011 there has been increased concern over global macro-economic uncertainties, especially slowing economic growth and the differing political responses to United States and eurozone sovereign debt concerns. This has heralded a return of extreme uncertainty and a lack of confidence which has now fairly clearly precipitated a widespread return to risk-averse attitudes amongst investors. Nevertheless, some contrarians have argued that a repeat of 2009 s squeeze on hedge funds is unlikely. First, the sector is now more institutionalised and concentrated, meaning that a wave of redemptions is less likely, particularly so soon after indications of an intent to increase hedge fund exposure. Secondly, with interest rates very low and likely to remain so, and the price of safe haven assets regularly hitting all-time highs, the alternatives to hedge fund allocation are not so obviously attractive in comparison. 2.6 Even leaving to one side the investment environment and the increased regulatory burden (discussed in section 3 below), hedge funds and their managers faced an additional significant challenge through the period from 2008: negative publicity and regulatory, political and popular criticism. Since the early stages of the credit crunch in 2008, hedge funds have continued to face considerable negative media coverage with hedge fund managers being subject to frequent characterisation as investors who make large sums for their clients and themselves without any contribution to society or benefit to the real economy. At critical points in the crisis, their behaviour and trading strategies particularly short-selling (see sections 3.6 to 3.9 below) have been held up as actions which make returns at the cost of exacerbating volatility and which contribute to, if not cause, systemic risk. 2.7 In addition, as private, lightly regulated entities, hedge fund managers are not obliged to make extensive public disclosures and some hedge funds have very limited transparency, even to their own investors. This has contributed to a reputation for secrecy which has in itself also attracted continuing negative commentary, particularly against the background 99 of calls from politicians and regulators, in numerous contexts, for increased transparency. As public pension funds increasingly allocate assets to hedge fund investment, concerns have also been raised as to the indirect risks or consequences of such investment for workers particularly in the context of hedge funds being seen as having influenced or driven M&A situations that have ultimately resulted in retrenchments. In those cases, labour unions, works councils and politicians have been increasingly frequent and vocal critics of hedge fund activity, characterising hedge funds as having bought into the company at a late stage on short-term considerations and with no interest in the company or its business beyond an arbitrage strategy for the transaction though often using more colourful language to do so. 3. Regulatory developments: hedge funds, short-selling and AIFMD 3.1 Until the 2008 credit crunch, capital flowed steadily into the hedge fund industry and there were few stresses to test the strength of the industry s practices and controls. That changed significantly as the financial crisis widened and the existence and extent of those controls came under more focus. 3.2 Generally, the funds themselves are established in low-tax, off-shore jurisdictions and, as such, tend to be largely unregulated. Hedge fund managers, however, tend to be based in global financial centres and their operations are subject to more extensive regulation and supervision in those jurisdictions. It is estimated that approximately 70 per cent. of hedge fund assets within Europe are managed by UK-based managers. These managers are subject to the prudential, conduct of business and disclosure requirements imposed by the UK s Financial Services Authority (FSA) on all FSA-regulated fund managers. In addition, the 35 largest hedge fund managers in London are supervised by a specialist supervision team within the FSA. Trading techniques used by hedge fund managers throughout Europe are also subject to general legislation that, for example, prohibits abusive market practices and requires public disclosure of exposures to listed shares (for example under the Market Abuse Directive and the Transparency Directive). 3.3 However, prior to the credit crunch, hedge funds and their managers in the UK were not required or expected to make any more specific strategic information available to the market or to those issuers whose securities they acquired. Unless hedge fund managers disclosed such information voluntarily, it was not generally possible for an issuer to know, or to investigate, the current investment strategy or objectives of the hedge fund manager holding its shares or the identity of the ultimate investors in that hedge fund. 3.4 The hedge fund industry was encouraged to adopt voluntary standards which addressed some areas of concern to regulators, investors and issuers, including in particular: structural and contractual transparency (including the disclosure of side letter arrangements granting preferential terms to favoured investors) the need for managers to adopt robust and transparent valuation methodologies safeguards against potentially abusive practices, in particular focusing on the use of information obtained in the context of event-driven activist strategies and through dealings in the secondary debt markets. 3.5 Various principles, standards and guidance for the hedge fund sector on these and other issues have since been produced by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) (the global trade association for alternative investment managers), the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, and the Financial Stability 1010 Forum. The FSA provides input to each of these organisations. In January 2008, the Hedge Funds Working Group (HFWB), a group formed by 14 of the major hedge funds in the UK, published a set of best practice standards intended to address the key concerns identified above. These have since been adopted by most of the hedge fund managers based in London. In August 2010, HFWB went further and adopted best practice policies on issues such as disclosure, valuation, governance and activism as well as policies on more specific issues such as the empty voting of borrowed stock. 3.6 The involvement of hedge funds in short-selling also afforded critics an opportunity to lay some of the blame for the turmoil in the world s financial markets at the door of hedge funds. Short-selling involves selling borrowed shares in the expectation that prices will fall, so enabling the short-seller to make a profit when it reacquires the shares at a lower price. The practice of short-selling is of course not restricted to hedge funds, but hedge funds have often used it as an investment strategy, and the association of the technique with hedge funds is now firmly established in the minds of commentators, regulators and politicians. 3.7 The practice of short-selling has attracted considerable criticism from many commentators, who believe that it de-stabilises financial markets and artificially drives down the share price of companies whose shares are sold short. At the height of financial institutions instability in 2008, particular criticism was reserved for certain hedge fund managers who were said to have explained to large audiences that they were shortselling securities issued by certain banks and insurance companies while raising questions about the businesses or accounting practices of those banks and insurance companies the suggestion being that these activities triggered a self-perpetuating fall in the price of those securities. 3.8 Other commentators have taken a different view, maintaining that short-selling is a legitimate investment technique which brings useful scepticism to company valuations, increases liquidity and aids the functioning of the markets. Some support for this view is to be found in the various investigations into the effects and effectiveness of the short-selling bans imposed by the US, the UK, Germany and France in September 2008 in respect of shares in financial institutions. These have generally concluded that, however eye-catching they were at the time, such bans did not ultimately have the intended long-term effect of reducing market volatility though whether supporters of the bans ever thought they would have such a panacea effect must be doubted. Equally, other analysis has concluded that the steps taken were a valid measure to quell some of the market instability, but did not solve the structural problems in the sector. 3.9 Nevertheless, when faced with acute situations, European regulators have generally decided that, whatever the legitimacy of short-selling in normal market conditions, the spectre of global financial meltdown supports the introduction of restrictions on short-selling with a view to their playing their part in increasing the stability of financial markets. Short-selling prohibitions and/or disclosure requirements in relation to financial stocks were introduced on a widespread basis in September 2008 as moves designed to protect the fundamental integrity and quality of markets as well as to guard against further instability in the financial sector and they have been re-introduced in various forms at various times since, including most notably during the more recent sovereign debt crisis. That said, the divergence of views concerning the efficacy of short-selling restrictions did become apparent again in August 2011, when some European regulators moved to ban short-selling of financial stocks with a view to stabilising markets in the face of sovereign and eurozone debt concerns. The FSA and the US Securities and Exchange 1111 Commission (SEC), on the other hand, did not consider this an appropriate response second time round Another central theme of the period since 2008 is increased scrutiny of hedge funds by EU and US regulators, who have sought to curb practices seen as disruptive to global securities markets, as well as to impose greater regulation and portfolio transparency. In Europe this process has been marked by the introduction of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). The impetus for the Directive came from the G20 summit in London in April 2009 where it was agreed that hedge fund managers should be regulated by, and systemically report relevant data to, regulators in EU Member States. As such the AIFMD initially proposed a very strict regime for managers of hedge (and other non-ucits) funds in Europe, combined with a potentially even more restrictive regime for funds or managers based outside Europe wishing to distribute non-ucits funds (Alternative Investment Funds or AIFs) to investors within Europe While the industry, led by AIMA, was generally supportive of the broad regulatory goals, concerns were expressed about various aspects of the AIFMD, including the so-called third country marketing provisions which would have restricted the ability of non-eu funds and managers to access the EU market and thus the ability of EU investors to invest efficiently or with relative ease outside the EU After intense lobbying by the hedge fund industry and other asset managers affected by the proposed regime (in particular managers of private equity and property funds), as well as by many European pension funds and institutional investors, the provisions of the AIFMD were substantially redrawn prior to its formal adoption in July Part of the lobbying involved a campaign, at least partly successful, to nullify the initial conclusion of some regulators that hedge funds themselves represented a systemic risk. The other key argument was one of European competitiveness; it was argued that the AIFMD would effectively exclude European investors from potential returns from strategies that would have become available only to their overseas competitors The AIFMD was formally adopted (level 1 of the EU legal process) in July 2011 and is to be implemented in each EU Member State by July The Paris-based European Securities and Markets Association (ESMA) conducted public consultations during the summer of 2011 and published its final advice (ESMA/2011/379) to the European Commission on the detailed rules underlying the AIFMD on 16 November ESMA s advice extends to approximately 500 pages and covers four broad areas: (i) general provisions for managers, authorisation and operating conditions; (ii) governance of AIFs depositaries; (iii) transparency requirements and leverage; and (iv) third countries. Inevitably, the detail of ESMA s advice will take time to digest and develop. However, in a speech on 1 November 2011, Sheila Nicoll of the FSA discussed the FSA s involvement in the consultation process, noting that ESMA had taken the consultation seriously and suggested that there would be changes to ESMA s initial proposals before they were finally adopted. The Commission will now prepare implementing measures (level 2 of the EU legal process) on the basis of ESMA s advice There remain a number of areas of uncertainty as to the detailed measures by which the AIFMD will be implemented, as well as to the cost implications for the asset management industry in Europe in particular in London, where the vast majority of European hedge fund managers are located. While ESMA s final advice provides some indication of the shape of the new regime, until the Commission prepares the implementing measures such indications will remain just that. 1212 3.15 With AIFMD casting a cloud over the future of the traditional off-shore hedge fund, some hedge fund managers are actively investigating moves outside Europe with a view to abandoning European regulation and distribution. Others are concentrating on strategies that can be undertaken within the UCITS III Directive, such as using the so called NewCITS structure, which allows retail customers to invest in products that pursue strategies that are more common in the alternative investment fund sector in particular, the hedge fund sector while remaining within the UCITS regime. UCITS funds fall outside the scope of the AIFMD and so are particularly attractive at a time when the impact of AIFMD remains unclear. Their two principal disadvantages, however, are the material costs, perhaps 2 to 3 per cent. per annum for a $100 million fund, and the fact not all strategies can be incorporated within the UCITS regulations. 4. Recent trends in the strategies and actions of shareholder activists hedge funds and other investors 4.1 While the M&A slowdown has meant that the small numbers of shareholder activist hedge funds focused on transactional strategies or merger arbitrage have been generally quiet, shareholder activism by institutional investors with a longer term investment horizon and other investors with a more strategic agenda has, in contrast, seen an increase. In the case of institutional investors, this has taken place with a level of encouragement from governments and regulators. This reflects an increasingly widely-held view and one expressed more than occasionally by politicians floating future disclosure rules or regulations for the investor community that the active involvement of the longer term investor (in particular pension funds and their advisers) in the affairs of the corporates in which they invest, as well as being an end in itself, might also help to address a series of perceived problems in the fields of governance, corporate strategy, risk management, diversity and executive remuneration at a time of public austerity. Institutionalising or formalising the active involvement of investors with a longer-term perspective is also seen by some as a valuable and necessary counterbalance to the activities of other investors, including hedge funds, who are perceived as seeking to profit from changes to management and strategy that provide short term profits at the expense of longer term objectives or wider political or social goals in particular the local or national retention of industry and employment. 4.2 The theme of increased participation or engagement from institutional shareholders has found some expression in the UK in the form of the Stewardship Code issued in July 2010 by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) which, on a comply or explain basis, places certain requirements on institutional investors. The Code acknowledges that it will be legitimate for some institutions to choose not to engage or intervene, including if such behaviour does not form part of their investment strategy. It also acknowledges that not all parts of the Code will be proportionate for all investors. Institutions will, though, be expected to explain the extent of and reasons for any non-compliance. In the activism context, the more significant requirements of the Code for investors are: to publicly disclose their policy on discharging their stewardship responsibilities, including a strategy on intervention to establish clear guidelines on when and how they will escalate their activities as a method of protecting and enhancing shareholder value, including when and how they will move from private conversations with a corporate s board, management and advisers to more public intervention and joint action with other institutions 1313 to be willing to act collectively with other investors where appropriate, against the background of a disclosed policy on collective engagement to have a policy on voting and disclosure of voting activity. 4.3 Whilst it is fairly clear that the incidence of activist or interventionist behaviour from more traditional institutional investors has increased through and since the financial crisis, when it comes to considering the subject matter of activist situations in Europe since 2008, it is largely a case of plus ça change, plus c est la même chose. With that in mind, it is worth considering the activism landscape from two perspectives: the strategies and objectives of the activists the tactics deployed and actions taken by activists in pursuit of their strategies and objectives. In both cases, perhaps the most significant point is that relatively little has moved on. 4.4 The strategies and objectives of activists have, as in prior periods, generally focussed on: seeking management changes, either as an end in itself or in support of other strategies. For example, Elliott Advisers/National Express and Sherborne/F&C in Part 2 of the UK Appendix; Wyser-Pratte/Lagardère in Part 2 of the France Appendix; Infineon/Hermes in Part 2 of the Germany Appendix; and Hermes and Fursa/ASMI in Part 2 of the Netherlands Appendix other broader governance themes: board and governance structures, independent representation, information access, financial discipline, and perceived governance or communication failures. For example, Wyser-Pratte/Lagardère in Part 2 of the France Appendix; Algebris/Generali and Amber Capital/Banca Popolare di Milano in Part 2 of the Italy Appendix; as well as several of the examples above where management changes were proposed shareholder payout or returns. For example, EasyJet in Part 2 of the UK Appendix and Deutsche Börse/TCI and Atticus Capital in Part 2 of the Germany Appendix strategy, including responses to transactional situations and major fund-raising. For example, Atticus Capital and TCI/Deutsche Börse/LSE, G4S/ISS and EasyJet in Part 2 of the UK Appendix; Apax/GFI Informatique and Wyser/Pratte/Lagardère in Part 2 of the France Appendix; Knight Vinke/ENI in Part 2 of the Italy Appendix; and TCI/ABN AMRO in Part 2 of the Netherlands Appendix control- or influence-seeking objectives. For example, Piedmont/Mitchells & Butler in Part 2 of the UK Appendix; Hermès/LVMH in Part 2 of the France Appendix; and Centaurus and Paulson/Stork in Part 2 of the Netherlands Appendix takeover agitation, whether pushing for a transaction to happen, taking steps to encourage a higher price from a bidder or pursing merger arbitrage strategies. For example, Kraft/Cadbury in Part 2 of the UK Appendix; Apax/GFI/Fujitsu and Elliott Management/Macquarie/APRR in Part 2 of the France Appendix; and Hermes & Orbis/ Canon-Océ in Part 2 of the Netherlands Appendix. 4.5 The tactics used in pursuance of those strategies and objectives have, again mirroring prior periods, principally comprised: 14 private discussions and engagement with management: talking to the chairman or non-executive directors to bring about a change of executive management or strategy or to seek concessions from the board. Many of the examples of more14 public action began with private discussions with board members, whether directly or through brokers or retained advisers. The dynamics and development of these private discussions can be critical for the outcome of any situation, and section 5 below looks at when it will be appropriate for corporates to engage in discussions with hedge funds and the duties of directors when doing so engagement or connection with other shareholders, privately or publicly, with a view to achieving a critical mass or broader range of support or pressure stakebuilding, whether through shares, CFDs or even stock loans to acquire additional empty voting power. Recent activist situations featuring significant stakebuilding exercises include: Piedmont/Mitchells & Butler and Sherborne/F&C (see Part 2 of UK Appendix), and LVMH/Hermès (see Part 2 of the France Appendix). Equally, however, it is clear that activists are also prepared to operate from the base of a relatively insignificant percentage holding, e.g. Wyser-Pratte/Lagardère (see Part 2 of the France Appendix), Hermes/Infineon (see Part 2 of the Germany Appendix), and Knight Vinke/ENI (see Part 2 of the Italy Appendix) publicising private engagement or other public action or intervention: agitation through press releases, briefing journalists, writing open letters to the board and trying to galvanize major shareholders as a follow-up use of minority shareholder rights and other public action beyond mere agitation: requisitioning meetings or resolutions to replace board members and make new appointments or to force a change in strategy or encourage or block a transaction. As is clear from the examples in the country-by-country appendices, the use of these rights is a core and frequently deployed activist tactic once a situation begins to play out publicly engaging in court action or litigation or encouraging intervention by regulators. Court and regulatory action are more of a feature in some jurisdictions than others, and it is here that the differing national legal regimes of individual European states come into play. Recent prominent examples include: Centaurus/Pardus/Atos Origin, Elliott/APRR, Wendel/Saint Gobain and Hermès/LVMH (see Part 2 of the France Appendix); various litigious and regulatory steps in relation to Porsche/VW and CeWe Color/MarCap/K Capital (see part 2 of the Germany Appendix); and various Enterprise Chamber actions in Netherlands, including ABN AMRO, Centaurus/Paulson/Stork, Hermes/Fursa/ASMI and Hermes/Orbis/Canon-Océ. 4.6 The fact that the picture on activists strategies, objectives and tactics has remained recognisable, if not constant, is perhaps unsurprisingly. Equally unsurprisingly, moving away from shareholder activism, creditor activism has emerged as an increasing theme during the financial crisis. The recessionary environment, as well as in some cases the financial crisis itself, has inevitably left some corporates in distressed situations. Equally inevitably, in some of those situations and as the interests of the corporate and the value in it has begun to shift from equity-to debt-holders, creditor activism has emerged as the response to the deteriorating position. Such activism takes various forms, including: debt-holders pushing for a debt-for-equity swap; investors buying into both the equity and the debt (often multiple layers of the debt) of the distressed corporate with a view to applying activist pressure on both sides; and subordinated debt investors seeking to limit the haircut applied to their tranche of debt as part of a restructuring. 1515 5. How corporates can prepare for and respond to an activist situation 5.1 In the same way that activist strategies, tactics and actions have not undergone fundamental change through the challenging environment of the last few years, nor has the range of possible responses available to corporates faced with an activist situation. One thing that has moved on, however, is the background against which activist situations play out: the performance of corporates is more challenged and the outlook more often uncertain constrained cashflow and investment returns to shareholders generally have put pressure on those corporates in the fortunate position of having strong cash positions and cash flow to return that cash to shareholders rather than retaining it on the balance sheet or deploying it for transactions or other business development there is a fresh focus on governance and the role of non-executive directors and supervisory boards, partly fuelled by a sense in some quarters that governance failures were faultlines beneath some of the financial difficulties faced by corporates through the crisis as noted above, there is increased engagement and activism from more traditional institutional investors a trend that looks likely to continue regulators across the piece feel more empowered and emboldened than perhaps they did before the 2008 financial crisis. 5.2 Each of those factors can potentially increase the general pressure on a corporate and will certainly play into the dynamic of any activist situation that might arise. Beyond that, the change in background is significant for two principal reasons: the increasing engagement from constituencies of shareholders who, in happier economic times, were much less inclined towards activist behaviour and the increased opportunities for the non-institutional shareholder with a specific strategic agenda both increase the value to a corporate of advance analysis and generic preparation. This will be particularly the case in the investor relations area where the objective of advance analysis and preparation is to provide an early warning of upcoming or developing investor issues the generally challenged and volatile nature of the economic environment underlines the importance of boards and executive management keeping strategic issues under review, including to some degree from the perspective of potential activist investor challenge. 5.3 Reconnaissance and advance analysis and preparation both within the company and externally with investors and analysts have therefore become perhaps even more important than previously. The sections below suggest in general terms some themes for possible advance work in the areas of investor relations and board preparedness. They also set out a set of more specific legal and investor relations tools that can be considered and maybe utilised, whether on a general ongoing basis or once a live activist situation has arisen albeit that once an activist situation begins, the content and means of any response will of course be highly situation-dependent and focused on the specific challenge faced. 1616 5.4 Investor relations Reviewing the company s dividend policy, cash position, analyst and investor presentations to consider hedge fund or other activist angles. Monitoring research analysts notes (including drafts), proxy advisers, governance rating agents, activist institutions and media reports for opinions or facts which may attract the attention of activists. Being alert to the messages passed on from research analysts. Managing news flow to the market to support a coherent view of the company and its strategy, to build management credibility and to restrict the opportunity for hedge funds or other activists to build a stake in the company on the cheap. Ensuring that consistency with the company s basic strategic message is maintained. Being proactive in addressing reasons for shortfalls against peer company benchmarks. Anticipating key questions and challenges which may come from analysts and activists and being prepared with answers to show why the company s strategy is correct and the activists analysis is flawed. Monitoring changes in institutional shareholdings regularly. Understanding the shareholder base, including the relationships amongst the shareholders if possible. Stock watch programmes may alert the company to new large shareholders and unusual dealing patterns. Maintaining regular contact with institutional investors and, where appropriate, being prepared to engage on specific issues. Considering their concerns and educating them about the company s strategy and the reasons for its success. Maintaining up-to-date plans for contact with the media, regulatory agencies and other bodies. Monitoring securities trading both the company s activity and peer activity. 5.5 Preparing the board to deal with activist situations Ensuring that board consensus is maintained on key strategic issues. Activist strategies often involve or rely on raising doubts or questions about strategy and management performance to drive a wedge between the executive and nonexecutive board teams. Reviewing strategy and evaluating the group s businesses and capital structure with the board, in light of possible arguments which may be raised by activists in favour of transaction-led strategic change or changes to capital structure, e.g. spin-offs, buybacks, special dividends, takeover of the company, and migration or other structural changes. Anticipating and researching alternative strategic initiatives so that pressure to adopt a new direction (e.g. a suggestion in an analyst s note) can be closed off at an early stage before the story or suggestion gets broader traction. Scheduling periodic presentations by lawyers, brokers, investment bankers and other advisers to familiarise directors and executive management with the current activist environment. Being aware of psychological and perception factors as well as legal and financial factors in becoming a target of activists. 1717 5.6 Legal tools Directors of companies are fortified by the fact that their duties take account of the interests of legal shareholders but typically not of those holding merely derivative or CFD interests. Ensuring proper procedures, systems and controls are in place to demonstrate that the directors have undertaken an appropriate exercise of their duties in order to provide good defences to challenges on governance as well as to legal actions by shareholders (e.g. derivative claims). Monitoring compliance with corporate governance best practice, listing obligations and general law to avoid challenge by activists on general grounds becoming part of the debate on narrower questions. Making use of rights to require disclosure from parties which have an interest in the company s shares, in order to investigate a company s shareholder base e.g. in the UK, s.793 (of the UK Companies Act 2006) notices or, where available, to seek an explanation of a particular shareholder s intentions after it has acquired certain stakes (see Part 5 of the Appendices). Monitoring hedge funds and other investors behaviour and shareholdings closely to see whether relevant holdings thresholds are crossed and analysing the consequences this may bring (such as making a particular disclosure or having to make a mandatory bid see Part 5 of the Appendices). In particular, two or more hedge funds pursuing a common strategy may be acting in concert : if this is the case, their shares may be aggregated for the purposes of disclosure requirements, mandatory bid thresholds and other purposes (see Part 3 of the Appendices). Monitoring hedge funds and other investors behaviour for legal or regulatory slips and breaches. Disclosure requirements are not always met and, in the case of shareholders who appear to act together but are not disclosing their interests on an aggregated basis, regulatory intervention can be considered to force aggregated disclosure and public admission of the joint action. Certain types of activist behaviour can also cross the line into market abuse. Companies should be alert to the possibility that hedge fund activity may constitute abusive conduct and consider using it as a defence tool. Companies should gain a sense of the activist strategy and be ready to respond promptly. 5.7 Responding to the activist approach Preparing a dedicated team to deal with activism, made up of a small group of key managers and advisers (financial, legal and investor relations). The team should be familiar with hedge funds and other investors that have made activist approaches and their strategies and tactics. Private communications with investors: there is no duty to enter into private discussions or negotiations with activist hedge funds or other investors each situation should be treated on its merits. However, companies should not be afraid to engage and, if they do, should give clear answers in support of the company s stated strategy. Responses should be carefully structured and prepared by a dedicated team and recorded internally in writing afterwards. Board members should be kept updated as appropriate. Public communications: assembling the team, informing the directors, calling an emergency board meeting to discuss and consider the communication. Determining 1818 6. Conclusion what the board s response should be and whether to meet, or otherwise engage directly or indirectly, with the activist. Avoiding mixed messages and being ready to defend attacks proactively and vigorously. It is clear that shareholder activism is here to stay. The increased encouragement of investor and stakeholder engagement through regulation, voluntary codes and other softer pressure seems likely to make it even more mainstream behaviour over time. Activist shareholders, whether hedge funds or classic long-term institutional shareholders, are just another part of the corporate landscape and corporates will need to keep taking account of that. Armed with the knowledge of the activists likely angles, strategies and the tools available to them, corporates can develop their own coherent approaches for responding to the challenges that may be faced. For the most part, these can be integrated into a company s regular corporate and investor relations programmes and they will also ensure that the company is fully equipped to respond vigorously to activists, both welcome and unwelcome. 1919 Appendix 1 UK Part 1: Themes and developments in the activity of hedge funds and shareholder activists in the UK The themes and developments in terms of hedge funds and shareholder activism in the UK through the recent period of financial crisis mirror those described in the opening section of this guide. Simply by reason of the concentration of European hedge funds managers in London, the UK has seen the greatest number of hedge fund closures, the greatest weight of fund redemptions, and the largest falls in assets under management. The underlying conditions have also bought increased consolidation of the UK hedge fund industry into a small number of larger hedge funds. As regards shareholder activism, much has, of course, remained entirely the same. Shareholder-led proposals for management or governance changes, for instance, have occured in much the same way and at much the same frequency as they have for some time. The changed economic environment has, though, inevitably resulted in an increased number of distressed or pressured situations. These have inevitably been fertile ground for increased shareholder engagement in activism as some of the advantages and defences that management possessed in more benign times have become conspicuous by their absence. There has also certainly been increased evidence of creditor activism. The greatest single change has been that, outside takeover or merger arbitrage situations, hedge funds seem to have been supplanted as the poster children of activism by longer-term institutional investors. The apparent behavioural and attitudinal shift of institutional investors has its genesis in a number of factors: increased disclosure requirements, soft pressure and encouragement (some would say the promise or threat of further regulation) from politicians and regulators, and an increased sense that active involvement of longer-term investors has a role to play, including in relation to recommendation practices. These factors have found expression in the Stewardship Code issued by the Financial Reporting Council and various pending developments for listed corporates remuneration policy and practices. The increased activism and engagement from institutional investors has been seen in a range of contexts: ordinary course investor relations pressure on cash-generative businesses to increase cash returns to shareholders transactional or major fundraising situations, including most recently in the reaction of G4S s shareholders to the proposed acquisition of ISS. In regulatory terms, there has been increased scrutiny from the FSA and other EU regulators who have sought to put hedge funds on the same footing as traditional asset management businesses. Hedge funds have also made moves to take themselves in that direction, with the Hedge Funds Working Group (a group formed by 14 major UK-based hedge funds) publishing best practice guidelines on issues such as disclosure, valuation, governance and activism as well as policies on specific issues such as the empty voting of borrowed stock. The Takeover Panel has, to some extent, sought to address market short-termism by examining the role of hedge funds and other investors in takeover situations albeit that the reforms ultimately introduced stopped short of some of the reforms floated in the early stages of consultation such as the disenfranchisement of shares acquired by investors (presumably typically for short-term or arbitrage reasons) during an offer period or an increased two-thirds approval/acceptance level for public takeovers. There has also been an increased focus on 2120 internal governance (for example, the UK s Walker Review) and, with the FRC s publication of its Stewardship Code, more formal procedures have been introduced on a comply or explain basis to regulate the relationship between shareholders and corporates. While the hedge fund industry clearly faces continued uncertainty, it is clear that that will not result in a lower incidence of shareholder activism. The various themes described above and in the opening section of this guide make it clear that corporates should continue to be prepared for activist situations and perhaps in particular for the implications of increased engagement and focus from longer-term institutional investors. 22 View more
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