Reading Time: 3 minutes What if everyone in the farm business could lay out their expectations and at the same time determine what is expected of each to make the business work? And what if you could also design a road map for how each person exits the operation or buys out other parties? A shareholder’s agreement is an […] Read more
Formalize the family farm with shareholder agreements
Bayer under investor pressure to speed up CEO changeover
Drug and chem firm's stock in 'crisis of trust,' investor says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — A top-10 shareholder in Bayer on Tuesday called on the group’s supervisory board to replace CEO Werner Baumann quickly, adding to investor pressure to restore trust and revive the German drugmaker’s sagging share price. Despite recent improvements in the company’s agriculture business and drug development prospects, Bayer shares have been weighed […] Read more
U.S. regulator rejects CN’s voting trust to buy Kansas City Southern
CP rips CN's play as 'illusory and not achievable'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — The U.S. rail regulator on Tuesday rejected a voting trust structure that would have allowed Canadian National Railway (CN) to proceed with its US$29 billion proposed acquisition of U.S. peer Kansas City Southern. The decision was a blow to the deal that would create the first direct railway linking Canada, the U.S. and […] Read more
U.S. railway’s board sticks with CN’s bid
Kansas City Southern board spurns sweetened CP bid
Reading Time: 3 minutes The board of directors for a U.S. railway facing takeover bids from each of Canada’s big two railways is sticking with Canadian National Railway’s (CN) proposal. The board for Kansas City Southern (KCS), in a release Aug. 12, said it unanimously agrees an upgraded Aug. 10 cash-and-stock bid from Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) “does not […] Read more
CN challenges CP with Kansas City Southern bid
KCS shareholder warns U.S. regulator 'doesn't like overlap'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — Canadian National Railway said on Tuesday it had offered to buy Kansas City Southern railroad for about US$33.7 billion, sending shares of the U.S. rail company soaring as investors anticipated a bidding war with Canadian Pacific Railway. CP had agreed a deal to acquire Kansas City Southern for about $25 billion last month […] Read more
JBS to seek damages from founders
Brazil shareholder vote a win for Brazil's BNDES
Reading Time: 2 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — Shareholders in JBS SA on Friday cleared the way for the Brazilian food processor to sue its own controlling stakeholders and certain former managers, a rare victory for shareholder activism in Latin America’s largest economy. The vote was a win for JBS’s top minority shareholder, national development bank BNDES, which […] Read more
Proxy advisers split over endorsing Bayer management
Chemical giant to host AGM April 28
Reading Time: 2 minutes Frankfurt | Reuters — Shareholder advisory groups are divided over whether to endorse the management and directors at German drugs and pesticides company Bayer, according to recommendations submitted by proxy voting firms. Bayer is due to host its annual general meeting on April 28 but the company still faces potentially huge litigation risks stemming from […] Read more
Bayer shareholders vent ire over Monsanto-linked stock rout
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bonn | Reuters — Bayer shareholders vented their anger over its stock price slump on Friday as litigation risks mount from the German drugmaker’s US$63 billion takeover of seed and chemical firm Monsanto. Several large investors said they will not support aspirin invesotr Bayer’s management in a key vote scheduled for the end of its […] Read more
Margarita Louis-Dreyfus seals share buyout
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters –– Margarita Louis-Dreyfus has completed a purchase of minority shares in agricultural commodity trader Louis Dreyfus Company, ending a long-running tussle with other family members. The buyout was completed on Jan. 25 and increased the stake of Margarita Louis-Dreyfus’ Akira trust to 96.2 per cent of Louis Dreyfus Company Holdings B.V., she […] Read more
Louis Dreyfus top shareholder gets finance to buy out minorities
Reading Time: 2 minutes Paris | Reuters – Margarita Louis-Dreyfus, top shareholder of commodity giant Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC), said she had secured financing for a deal that requires her to buy out family minorities, a move that has created uncertainty over the firm’s funding. Minority family shareholders asked in 2015 to sell 16.6 percent of LDC’s holding company […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
