RECENT COMMENTS by Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development Donville Inniss prompts one to respond and acknowledge his accuracy in describing the apathy and indifference of shareholders especially in large public-listed companies.
Indeed, it is well known that shareholders rarely attend annual general meetings, and are generally disinterested in the appointment of directors.
The exception is when the matter is of social significance, as was the case in the “Barbados Mutual Affair”. We witnessed the share price increase from about $4 to $6 – the result not of shareholder activism but of a white knight in the form of ANAS McAL.
The recent announcement of an onerous contractual obligation threatens to stump a further increase in offer price. Such poison pill-managerial manipulation designed to thwart a hostile takeover bid or to act as a golden handcuff restricting the desirability of acquisition by a predator, raises questions as to the validity of defensive tactics adopted by corporate management.
The duty imposed on directors is to act honestly and in good faith in the best interest of the company.
What is the composition of the shareholder body? Is there only one class of shareholders? Were the shareholders presented with an opportunity to exercise their votes?
In the midst of directors’ resignations, market share and competition issues, questions of nationalism, sovereignty and the absence of a regional mechanism at the level of CARICOM, still the most significant power of a shareholder is the right to vote, and like any enfranchisement, it’s a mockery if ignored.
– LESLEY A. WALCOTT, attorney at law and senior lecturer, University of the West Indies
