PARIS (Reuters) – Hedge fund Amber Capital and French media group Vivendi on Thursday lost their attempt to push French conglomerate Lagardere to hold an extraordinary shareholder meeting at which they hoped to call for board changes.
A Paris court upheld a previous decision which had turned down Amber and Vivendi’s requests, according to the ruling seen by Reuters. The firms are Lagardere’s two biggest shareholders, and have joined forces to push for governance changes.
Due to an unusual corporate structure, Lagardere’s boss Arnaud Lagardere has veto powers on many decisions with only a 7% stake.
The company holds its usual shareholder meeting in May, but some investors had hoped to accelerate changes with one before then.
(Reporting by Gwenaelle Barzic and Sarah White; Editing by Jan Harvey)
