Federica Soro is an analyst at Glass, Lewis & Co. This post is based on her Glass Lewis publication.
Related research from the Program on Corporate Governance includes The Long-Term Effects of Hedge Fund Activism by Lucian Bebchuk, Alon Brav, and Wei Jiang (discussed on the Forum here); Dancing with Activists by Lucian Bebchuk, Alon Brav, Wei Jiang, and Thomas Keusch (discussed on the Forum here); and Against All Odds: Hedge Fund Activism in Controlled Companies by Kobi Kastiel.
The spotlight has been on Telecom Italia since Vivendi, the French media conglomerate controlled by Vincent Bolloré, built up a 24% stake in 2016. In the past few months, the glare has intensified over a series of shareholder meetings, court decisions and backroom negotiations, with governance and control of the Italian company—as well as influence over a strategic asset of national importance—in the balance.
One year ago, Vivendi managed to secure a majority of Telecom’s board for a three-year term, as its slate of nominees narrowly defeated the slate of independent directors proposed by institutional investors. Among rumors of clashes with the new oversight team, CEO Flavio Cattaneo became the second chief executive to leave Telecom in just over a year—receiving €25 million upon termination of his employment contract.