Vivendi Withholds Vote at Ubisoft Shareholder Meeting -- Update
September 22 2017 - 2:34PM
Dow Jones News
By Max Bernhard
Vivendi SA (VIV.FR) said that it didn't vote on resolutions
submitted at the Ubisoft Entertainment SA (UBI.FR) shareholder
meeting Friday in protest of not being invited to join the
videogame maker's board.
"Vivendi regrets that, in defiance of all logical corporate
governance, it has not yet been invited to be a member of the board
of directors, even though it is the largest shareholder, with
26.63% of the share capital," the company said.
After buying an initial stake in 2015, Vivendi has been pushing
to get representation on Ubisoft's board since early last year. It
also abstained from voting on resolutions at Ubisoft's 2016
shareholder meeting. The French media company's interest in Ubisoft
stems in part from its ambition to grow in videogames, an industry
closely tied to movies and theme parks.
"Like last year, Vivendi again systematically abstained on all
resolutions," Ubisoft said, adding that other shareholders showed
support and confidence in management and strategy.
Ubisoft has said it wants to remain independent. It has
expressed concerns about a loss of shareholder value resulting from
Vivendi's involvement in the company.
On Friday, Vivendi said it abstained from a vote to approve a
resolution to authorize the allocation of free shares to employees,
although it supports the resolution.
It complained that a "complete lack of transparency from the
family shareholders is depriving the company of significant support
in its development and of proven expertise in the fields of media
and entertainment."
Write to Max Bernhard at Max.Bernhard@dowjones.com;
@mxbernhard
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 22, 2017 14:19 ET (18:19 GMT)
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