Tausi Insider

Tesla founder Elon Musk attends Offshore Northern Seas 2022, in Stavanger, Norway, on Aug. 29. NTB/Reuters A trial over shareholder allegations that Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk’s $56-billion pay package was based on easy to achieve performance targets and that investors were duped into approving it began on Monday, with Musk slated to take the stand later this week. A Tesla TSLA-Q shareholder hopes to prove during the five-day trial that Musk used his dominance over the electric vehicle maker’s board to dictate terms of the 2018 package, which did not require him to work at Tesla full-time. Musk, the world’s richest person, will testify on Wednesday, Greg Varallo, an attorney for shareholder Richard Tornetta, told a court in Wilmington, Delaware, on Monday. The trial began with Ira Ehrenpreis, a Tesla board member since 2007 and chair of the committee that oversaw the pay package, describing the thinking behind the record-breaking compensation deal. “I wanted to make sure that El...

Dexter John, CEO of Morrow Sodali, in their Toronto office, on Nov. 15. Christopher Katsarov/Tausi Insider Shareholder pressure to improve environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance shows no sign of letting up, especially with votes pushing for better corporate strategies on climate-change issues, according to a prominent proxy adviser. A review by Morrow Sodali shows that investors launched 113 ESG-related shareholder proposals at public companies between January and August of this year. Of those, 62 related to social issues, 27 concerned environmental measures and the rest involved governance. It all shows the growing importance that boards and managers must place on ESG, even in the face of a troublesome economic environment, said Dexter John, chief executive officer of Morrow Sodali’s Canadian office. On the environmental front, say-on-climate votes will become more common in Canada over the next three to five years, Mr. John said. Modelled after say-on-pay resolution...

Large banks and insurers have once again jointly obtained a court order that permits them to hold either online-only or hybrid annual general meetings. Jenny Kane/The Associated Press Financial institutions: Do right by your shareholders and meet them face-to-face next year. Large banks and insurers have once again jointly obtained a court order that permits them to hold either online-only or hybrid annual general meetings (a format that allows investors to attend virtually or in the flesh) because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It may sound inconsequential, but it’s not. The 2023 AGM season will mark the fourth straight year that some of Canada’s largest companies will have legal cover to forgo in-person gatherings entirely even though electronic-only meetings erode shareholders’ rights. Yes, coronavirus is still with us. But given that many of these same corporations are urging their employees to return to the office, it’s starting feel like one of the lingering effects of the pandemic ...

A group led by the management of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc CF-T said on Monday it would launch a takeover bid for the Canadian financial services company, valuing the firm at nearly $1.13-billion. The offer price of $11.25 per share marks a 31 per cent premium to the stock’s last close. In June, Canaccord’s largest shareholder had expressed concerns that the public markets were undervaluing the company, Canaccord said. After discussion with the company’s chief executive officer Daniel Daviau, the shareholder said it would support a go-private deal. https://www.tausiinsider.com/canaccord-genuitys-management-seeks-to-acquire-firm-in-nearly-1-13-billion-deal/?feed_id=325642&_unique_id=63f8ed3f2934a

Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks in Phoenix, Ariz., on Dec. 6, 2022. Ross D. Franklin/The Associated Press Apple CEO Tim Cook will take a more than 40 per cent pay cut this year from a year earlier as the company adjusts how it calculates his compensation partly based on a recommendation from Cook himself. Apple Inc. AAPL-Q said in a regulatory filing late Thursday that Cook’s target total compensation is $49-million for 2023, with a $3-million salary, $6-million cash incentive and $40-million in equity awards. Last March the Cupertino, California, company conducted an advisory shareholder vote on executive pay with 6.21 billion shares voting in favor of the executive pay package and 3.44 billion against. There were also abstentions and broker non-votes. Apple said its compensation committee took into account shareholder feedback, the company’s performance and a recommendation from Cook, who was promoted to CEO in 2011, to adjust his compensation in light of the feedback received. Apple sai...

Vancouver-based Ritchie Bros. revised its roughly US$6-billion bid for Illinois-based auto salvage and parts auction company IAA this week after months of shareholder opposition to its original proposal. CODIE MCLACHLAN /The Canadian Press Despite Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers Inc. sweetening its multibillion-dollar offer to buy IAA Inc., one of its major shareholders remains unpersuaded. Vancouver-based Ritchie Bros. RBA-T revised its roughly US$6-billion bid for Illinois-based auto salvage and parts auction company IAA IAA-N this week after months of shareholder opposition to its original proposal. The new terms included a larger cash component and less stock, meaning existing Ritchie Bros. shareholders would face less dilution. It also added a US$1.08 one-time special dividend for the heavy equipment seller’s own shareholders. Despite those updates, Luxor Capital Group released a statement Tuesday evening saying the revised deal has “done little to change the financial terms for RBA s...