Vincent Bolloré has failed in his bid to win two seats on Aegis’ board, with 58.3% of shareholders voting against his nominations.
Resolutions 14 and 15, which would have seen Bolloré’s nominees, Philippe Germond (ex-president of French mobile firm Alcatel) and Roger Hatchuel (former owner of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival) become directors of the company, were not passed (see
Aegis Board Urge Shareholders To Block Nominations).
More than 76% of eligible votes were cast at the meeting and 94% of the votes not controlled by Groupe Bolloré were cast against the two resolutions (see Aegis Board: One Share, One Vote).
Vincent Bolloré, chairman of Groupe Bolloré, owns 29% of Aegis and 25% of Havas, one of Aegis’ main competitors and of which he is also chairman (see Bollore Named As Chairman Of Havas).
Lord Sharman, chairman of Aegis, said: “We are pleased that all of the vital elements of today’s business were concluded in line with the board’s recommendation. In particular, the voting on two of today’s resolutions confirmed an important point of corporate governance principle.
“Given the good level of turnout and the strong support shown for the board’s position, we hope that the suggestion of board representation for a single shareholder so closely connected to a competitor can now be put behind us.
“From here it is business as usual: so far as we are concerned this was a single disagreement about a single issue of principle and we remain committed to an open and frank dialogue with all of our shareholders, including Groupe Bolloré. In the mean time, we will continue to run the company to build outstanding value for all our shareholders.”
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