Japan's Cosmo calls another shareholder vote in activist defence

Cosmo Energy Holdings Co

24/10/2023 09:15

TOKYO, Oct 24 (Reuters) - Cosmo Energy Holdings  5021.T 
said on Tuesday it would call another shareholder vote on a
"poison pill" takeover defence against a group of activist
investors, escalating the high-profile battle.
    Cosmo, however, said it will not eliminate the group, led by
prominent activist Yoshiaki Murakami, from voting this time,
unlike the previous vote in June.
    The tactics, a so-called majority-of-minority vote, has
fuelled concerns among governance experts that it could be
interpreted as authorising a board to refuse to count the votes
of certain unwelcome shareholders in some circumstances.

 (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christian
Schmollinger)
 ((Makiko.Yamazaki@thomsonreuters.com; +81-3-4563-2805;))