Shareholder Activism in Belgium

Description

Inhoud Shareholder activism is already an established phenomenon in the US. In Europe, including Belgium, shareholder activism is on the rise and is expected to become more and moreimportant. Investors increasingly voice their discontent instead of opting for the exit. This new attitude will change the dynamic between investors and boards.Gone are the days where shareholders exclusively focused on their financial return. Today, financial objectives are complemented with the realization of ESG environmental,social and governance objectives. This push towards sustainability creates new battlefields between investors and boards.Notwithstanding its importance, the topic of shareholder activism has not yet been explored in Belgium legal scholarship. This book, edited by Tom Vos University ofAntwerp, Jean-Pierre Blumberg Chair and Arie Van Hoe FEB-VBO, aims to fill this gap. The book explores the present and future of shareholder activism in Belgium. Oldand new forms of activism will be presented and situated in their financial and legal context. This will help readers understand whether shareholder activism can be a boon ora curse for sustainable value creation. Many of the contributions of the book are based on presentations at the conference of 9 June 2022 on shareholder activism in Belgium boon or curse for sustainable value creation, co-organized by theFederation of Enterprises in Belgium FEB-VBO and the Jean-Pierre Blumberg Chair at the University of Antwerp Thursday 9 June 2022.