Success of Shareholder Activism: the French case

Avaiable online on the publisher's website: http://www.revue-banque.fr/medias/content/users/christine/1320749868431.pdfThis aim of this study is to distinguish which features of shareholder activism lead to a successful outcome in the French context. Shareholder activism is considered herein as a process consisting of a series of influential activities. We examine cases of confrontational activity from the point at which the conflict first becomes the object of media attention. Using data collected in the French financial press from January 1989 to June 2008, we look at the cases of 203 French corporations which have been the target of criticism on the part of activist shareholders. To gain an accurate measure of success in French shareholder activism processes we examine to what extent shareholders have been able to achieve their objectives, and what degree of influential activity has been involved. Our results reveal, throughout the period studied, a striking correlation between successful outcomes and the most confrontational influential degree: the law suit. We also observe that, since the changes in the French activist landscape brought about by a legal enforcement of minority rights in 2001, the involvement both of activist institutional investors and proxy professionals has also been significant factor of success

L'incidence de l'activisme actionnarial sur les mécanismes de gouvernance : le cas français

Disponible en ligne : http://leg.u-bourgogne.fr/rev/073116.pdfPrior research shows that the absence of a significant market reaction at public announcement of shareholder activism is largely attributable to the weak visibility of conflict. For this reason we studied changes in corporate governance relevant to the visibility of conflict. From a sample of 59 listed companies with dissident shareholders between January 1989 and December 2000, we tried to measure the effects of shareholder activism on corporate governance according to the degree of influence of minority shareholders.Afin d'apporter un nouvel éclairage aux études antérieures sur l'absence de réaction boursière à l'annonce publique d'un activisme actionnarial, cet article cherche à déterminer les aménagements organisationnels entrepris pour réduire la visibilité de la cause actionnariale. À partir d'un échantillon de 59 sociétés cotées sujettes au mécontentement d'actionnaires minoritaires de janvier 1989 à décembre 2000, nous cherchons à mesurer les effets de cette dissidence sur les mécanismes de gouvernance en fonction du degré d'influence exercé par la minorité d'actionnaires

Pour une cartographie des parties prenantes fondée sur leur engagement : une application aux sociétaires d'une banque mutualiste française

The aim of this article is to propose a new classification of stakeholders based on the concept of commitment. Commitment is analysed as a social and organisational learning process shared between managers and their stakeholders. This commitment is a necessary condition - even if it is not sufficient - to the corporate social responsibility of the business. Applied to the membership of a French mutual bank in order to identify the members' varying levels of commitment, this new mapping technique can help managers to adapt their practices to the degree of commitment of each identified group of members, and to modify their financial products and communications to foster commitment among as many of these groups as possible.L'objectif de cet article est de proposer une nouvelle classification des parties prenantes fondée sur le concept d'engagement. L'engagement est analysé comme un processus d'apprentissage organisationnel et social entre les dirigeants et leurs parties prenantes. Cet engagement est une condition nécessaire -­ même si elle n'est pas suffisante -­ à la responsabilité globale de l'entreprise. Appliqué au sociétariat d'une banque mutualiste française pour lui permettre d'identifier leurs sociétaires plus ou moins engagés, cette nouvelle cartographie peut aider ses dirigeants, d'une part à adapter leurs relations au degré d'engagement de chaque groupe de sociétaires identifiés, et d'autre part à adapter leurs produits financiers et leur communication pour favoriser cet engagement auprès du plus grand nombre de ces groupes

Les leviers de création de valeur de configurations d'investisseurs en capital risque : le cas d'un réseau régional de Business Angels

A partir de l'approche intégrée de la gouvernance, cette étude de cas analyse le rôle dynamique des capacités cognitives d'investisseurs en capital risque à partir de leurs relations avec l'entrepreneur. Ces relations sont évolutives et font émerger différentes configurations d'investisseurs grâce au réseau. En phase d'amorçage, le choix du réseau par l'entrepreneur est déterminant pour réduire la nature tacite des informations et des connaissances. Cette coordination cognitive influence le processus d'apprentissage de l'entreprise grâce aux différentes formes d'engagement mises en oeuvre par l'investisseur professionnel chef de file et par les co-investisseurs, plus ou moins engagés dans le projet

The Professionalization of Shareholder Activism in France

Shareholder activism in France is increasingly influenced by networks of hedge fund investors and other specialized players (including proxy advisory firms and investor associations). In the last few years, these networks have professionalized the way shareholder activism is conducted in the country. This report summarizes notable activism developments in France and examines the phenomenon of professionalization with two recent examples: the Suez-Gaz de France and the Atos Origin cases

Focus on: Mobilizing Investors Networks behind Shareholder Activism in France

International audienceThis paper makes three contributions: first, it analyses and conceptualizes professional shareholder activists and their use of international investor networks to engage French companies. We explain the changes in French legislation and corporate governance that facilitated the professionalization of shareholder activism. We then develop the conceptual model concerning the collaborative dimension of investor networks in France. Second, the paper determines the roles they play within the shareholder activism process in France. We document the functioning of shareholder activist actors that mobilize international investor networks. Finally, the third contribution is to illustrate the roles played by these professional actors and international investor networks in the shareholder activism process in France with two case examples

In Drosophila melanogaster the COM Locus Directs the Somatic Silencing of Two Retrotransposons through both Piwi-Dependent and -Independent Pathways

BACKGROUND: In the Drosophila germ line, repeat-associated small interfering RNAs (rasiRNAs) ensure genomic stability by silencing endogenous transposable elements. This RNA silencing involves small RNAs of 26-30 nucleotides that are mainly produced from the antisense strand and function through the Piwi protein. Piwi belongs to the subclass of the Argonaute family of RNA interference effector proteins, which are expressed in the germline and in surrounding somatic tissues of the reproductive apparatus. In addition to this germ-line expression, Piwi has also been implicated in diverse functions in somatic cells. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we show that two LTR retrotransposons from Drosophila melanogaster, ZAM and Idefix, are silenced by an RNA silencing pathway that has characteristics of the rasiRNA pathway and that specifically recognizes and destroys the sense-strand RNAs of the retrotransposons. This silencing depends on Piwi in the follicle cells surrounding the oocyte. Interestingly, this silencing is active in all the somatic tissues examined from embryos to adult flies. In these somatic cells, while the silencing still involves the strict recognition of sense-strand transcripts, it displays the marked difference of being independent of the Piwi protein. Finally, we present evidence that in all the tissues examined, the repression is controlled by the heterochromatic COM locus. CONCLUSION: Our data shed further light on the silencing mechanism that acts to target Drosophila LTR retrotransposons in somatic cells throughout fly development. They demonstrate that different RNA silencing pathways are involved in ovarian versus other somatic tissues, since Piwi is necessary for silencing in the former tissues but is dispensable in the latter. They further demonstrate that these pathways are controlled by the heterochromatic COM locus which ensures the overall protection of Drosophila against the detrimental effects of random retrotransposon mobilization

Plague Circulation and Population Genetics of the Reservoir Rattus rattus: The Influence of Topographic Relief on the Distribution of the Disease within the Madagascan Focus.

International audienceBACKGROUND: Landscape may affect the distribution of infectious diseases by influencing the population density and dispersal of hosts and vectors. Plague (Yersinia pestis infection) is a highly virulent, re-emerging disease, the ecology of which has been scarcely studied in Africa. Human seroprevalence data for the major plague focus of Madagascar suggest that plague spreads heterogeneously across the landscape as a function of the relief. Plague is primarily a disease of rodents. We therefore investigated the relationship between disease distribution and the population genetic structure of the black rat, Rattus rattus, the main reservoir of plague in Madagascar. METHODOLOGYPRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a comparative study of plague seroprevalence and genetic structure (15 microsatellite markers) in rat populations from four geographic areas differing in topology, each covering about 150-200 km(2) within the Madagascan plague focus. The seroprevalence levels in the rat populations mimicked those previously reported for humans. As expected, rat populations clearly displayed a more marked genetic structure with increasing relief. However, the relationship between seroprevalence data and genetic structure differs between areas, suggesting that plague distribution is not related everywhere to the effective dispersal of rats. CONCLUSIONSSIGNIFICANCE: Genetic diversity estimates suggested that plague epizootics had only a weak impact on rat population sizes. In the highlands of Madagascar, plague dissemination cannot be accounted for solely by the effective dispersal of the reservoir. Human social activities may also be involved in spreading the disease in rat and human populations