Latest news with #Bertelsmann
RTÉ News
16-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Adidas chair reelected to 2026 despite shareholder revolt
Adidas shareholders have approved the re-election of Chairman Thomas Rabe despite a revolt, with some investors saying Rabe had too many outside commitments and the company had not done enough to find a successor. Shareholders at the group's annual general meeting supported his election for another year with 64.43% of votes, securing Rabe's sixth year in the role, but the margin narrowed compared to last year, when Rabe got 69% of votes. Adidas, in the midst of a turnaround driven by CEO Bjorn Gulden, extended Rabe's mandate last year by 12 months and said it would appoint a successor in 2025. Top investors including Allianz Global Investors rejected Rabe's reelection, saying he did not have enough time to dedicate to Adidas given his outside roles as CEO of Bertelsmann and RTL Group. In a letter to shareholders ahead of the meeting, Rabe said the extra year would give Adidas time to ensure a smooth handover, and that his experience and collaboration with Gulden were valuable especially as US tariffs have triggered economic uncertainty. "At the end of the 2026 Annual General Meeting, I will leave the Supervisory Board of Adidas for good," he added in the letter. Rabe also said he would increase the proportion of women on the board, after proxy adviser Institutional Shareholders Services said Adidas' board was not sufficiently gender-diverse.
Fashion United
16-05-2025
- Business
- Fashion United
Adidas chairman Rabe allowed to continue for another year
Bertelsmann media group's chief executive officer, Thomas Rabe, can continue as chairman of the supervisory board of German sportswear manufacturer Adidas for another year, despite strong opposition from shareholders. At the annual general meeting in Fürth, Rabe received only 64.4 percent of the votes from Adidas shareholders. However, the result is sufficient for another year in office. Rabe has been a member of the supervisory board since 2019 and was elected its chairman in 2020. Rabe had already faced criticism last year because shareholders viewed his dual role as Bertelsmann chief and Adidas supervisor critically. However, the 59-year-old received a mandate for another year, coupled with a request to intensify the search for a successor. 'Failed succession planning' A representative from Deka-Bank said at the annual general meeting: 'We approved the re-election of Mr Rabe one year ago, under the provision that the supervisory board would use the year for succession planning.' He now spoke of a 'missed opportunity' and of a "failed succession planning". Other shareholder groups, including Allianz Global Investors and Union Investment, supported the argument. Rabe himself is convinced that he is still the right person for the job. In a letter to the shareholders, he had already admitted in advance that the accumulation of offices could be perceived as unfavourable. He wrote: 'After thorough examination and detailed discussions in the nomination committee, in the overall supervisory board and with our chief executive officer, Bjørn Gulden, we have now come to the conclusion that stability, continuity and experience at the top of the supervisory board continue to be of critical importance for our business success'. Against this background, the supervisory board is convinced that his 'many years of experience as chairman of the supervisory board of Adidas and other listed companies' as well as the 'very close and good cooperation' with group chief Gulden in this 'phase of great opportunities for Adidas is very valuable and necessary in order to continue to guarantee the sustainable turnaround', the letter continues. Despite the challenges posed by customs policy in the US, Adidas is in a solid economic position. In the first quarter, sales rose by 8 percent to almost 5.5 billion euros. Operating profit climbed to 336 million euros, after 60 million in the same period last year. This article was translated to English using an AI tool. FashionUnited uses AI language tools to speed up translating (news) articles and proofread the translations to improve the end result. This saves our human journalists time they can spend doing research and writing original articles. Articles translated with the help of AI are checked and edited by a human desk editor prior to going online. If you have questions or comments about this process email us at info@
Wall Street Journal
14-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Adidas Shareholders to Oppose Chair's Re-Election
Some Adidas ADS 0.09%increase; green up pointing triangle shareholders said they plan to oppose the re-election of supervisory-board chairman Thomas Rabe at the company's annual general meeting, citing the lack of a succession plan. Rabe, chief executive of both German media group Bertelsmann and its listed broadcasting arm RTL Group RRTL -0.46%decrease; red down pointing triangle, has chaired the supervisory board of the German sporting-goods company since 2020. Adidas shareholders are set to vote on a proposal for him to remain in the role for an additional year at the annual meeting scheduled for Thursday.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Allianz GI to vote against Adidas chair re-election as 'overboarding' row reignites
Allianz Global Investors will vote against the re-election of Thomas Rabe at Adidas' upcoming AGM, reigniting a row over the chairman's other work commitments. The €571billion fund manager said on Monday it would vote against Rabe's re-election to Adidas' supervisory board at the 15 May meeting, citing 'overboarding' concerns. A majority of Adidas investors backed Rabe's re-election last year despite prominent proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services recommending they vote against the reappointment due to his roles at other companies. Rabe, who is looking for his sixth year as chair, is also chief executive of listed media group RTL as well as German conglomerate Bertelsmann. Allianz GI says this is 'too many commitments in addition to his role at Adidas', but had voted to reappoint Rabe last year anyway on the basis that the group had a transition plan in place. However, the fund manager said, Adidas 'has neither presented a successor to the chair nor, in our view, a convincing succession plan since then'. The group called on Adidas to present to investors a 'succession plan and ultimately, a candidate, as soon as possible, allowing sufficient time for induction to ensure seamless handover'. It said: 'AllianzGI believes that the selection of a chair should be well prepared and communicated clearly to investors. 'This includes a stringent competence profile of the candidate to be selected including, for example, senior management expertise, industry and international experience as well as outstanding leadership skills. 'In times of geopolitical disruption, the incoming chair should have sufficient time to fulfil his duties and not serve as an executive at the same time, and be truly independent.' Allianz GI is not among Adidas' top 10 major shareholders, so Rabe's position likely rests with other top investors yet to comment. Global head of sustainable and impact investing Matt Christensen added: 'The incoming chair should possess strong leadership skills, industry experience, unquestionable independence, and enough time to lead the board, especially in times of crisis.'
Business Mayor
22-04-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Bertelsmann chief seeks to revive €3.6bn French TV merger
Unlock the Editor's Digest for free Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. The head of Europe's largest media company wants to revive an aborted merger between French broadcasters M6 and TF1, as the bloc's regulators consider taking a less stringent approach to corporate consolidation. Thomas Rabe, chief executive of German conglomerate Bertelsmann, told the Financial Times he hoped to revisit his plan to merge France's two biggest privately owned broadcasters, which was abandoned in 2022 as a result of stiff regulatory opposition. Rabe said a tie-up between Bertelsmann-owned M6 and its larger rival TF1, owned by French conglomerate Bouygues, would be 'highly' synergistic. 'It would create a true French TV and streaming champion, able to compete with the US platforms,' he said, referring to streaming services including Netflix and Apple TV+. The two companies had combined revenues of €3.7bn in 2024, and a combined market capitalisation of €3.6bn. Bouygues said on Thursday that it shared Rabe's view that a combination of TF1 and M6 still had merit. 'We can see putting such a project back on the table when the legal and regulatory conditions permit it,' it said. In 2022, Bertelsmann and Bouygues argued that regulators should expand their definition of the TV and advertising markets, as part of their efforts to gain approval for the merger. They wanted US streaming services to be deemed direct competitors to traditional broadcasters. France's competition authority acknowledged the threat posed by streamers, but argued that television remained 'a very powerful medium'. The regulator found that the deal could create 'major competitive risks' in the TV advertising market and said the combined company would need to sell one of its main channels to win approval. That stipulation ultimately killed the deal. Rabe said he has since been encouraged by a change in mindset in Brussels after what he described as years of excessively stringent competition rules. 'We've been the victims of these rules more than once . . . we have tried to create European champions in media and we were blocked by the regulators — I believe for no good reason,' he said. 'Now the European Commission talks about the necessity to reform and promote European champions. Fantastic. Let's do it.' In his report on EU competitiveness last year, Mario Draghi, former president of the European Central Bank, called on regulators to approve mergers that would drive innovation and boost economic growth. Teresa Ribera, the new EU competition commissioner, has since been tasked with examining whether regulations are 'fit for the new realities' of global competition. Rabe said he would be willing to revisit the TF1-M6 merger 'as soon as regulators indicate they are willing to take a more open-minded approach'. The chief executive of Bertelsmann, which also owns broadcaster RTL and publisher Penguin Random House, hopes that will come within two to three years. M6 may attract interest from other suitors, including billionaire Rodolphe Saadé, who already owns a 10 per cent stake. A deal with Saadé would not face the same level of regulatory scrutiny as a tie-up with TF1.
