Latest news with #InstitutionalShareholderServices
Japan Times
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Times
ISS reverses stance and backs Toyota chief's reappointment
A firm that advises large investors backed the reappointment of Chairman Akio Toyoda to Toyota's board, reversing its position from a year ago. "There are no particular concerns about the nominee,' Institutional Shareholder Services said in a report Thursday. The world's No. 1 carmaker will hold its annual meeting June 12. ISS, Glass Lewis and other proxy advisory firms can influence voting at shareholder meetings by providing an analysis for why stakeholders should support or reject proposals on directors and other matters. Last year, ISS and Glass Lewis recommended against Toyoda's re-election, citing concerns over governance and his handling of a series of vehicle safety scandals, as well as Toyota's commitment to reducing its impact on climate change. Representatives for Toyota didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. Shareholder support for Toyoda, whose grandfather founded the company, has been slipping in recent years. More than a quarter of votes cast at last year's annual meeting opposed his reappointment. His share of affirmative votes dropped to 72%, from 85% and 96% in the prior two years. Toyoda has said that his seat on the board could be at risk if shareholder support continues to decline. "No board member in Toyota's history has seen their support fall so low,' he said in a podcast interview with Toyota Times, the company's media outlet, in July 2024. Toyoda has long been the face of the company, which he led from 2009 until 2023, when he ceded the chief executive officer role to Koji Sato. Last year's regulatory scandals caused Toyoda's opposition to spread among big shareholders, including Nissay Asset Management and Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management. The scandals began with government probes that uncovered falsified vehicle safety certifications in December 2023 at a pair of subsidiaries — Daihatsu Motor and Toyota Industries — then a few months later at the carmaker itself. This year, the focus could fall on Toyoda's ¥6 trillion ($41.7 billion) plan to buy out Toyota Industries, and whether the take-private deal by the founding family will help or hurt the carmaker's push to improve corporate governance. Toyoda owns less than 1% of Toyota Motor, while Toyota Industries — a major forklift manufacturer and producer of car parts and textile machinery — has a 9.1% stake in the carmaker. Much depends on how these holdings are rationalized if and when the deal proceeds. Voting at shareholder meetings in Japan are becoming more consequential, as the government urges businesses to unwind ownership of stock in each other. That's triggered a broader dissolution of cross-held shares among the country's biggest companies, those including between Toyota and its suppliers, affiliates and banks.
Bloomberg
23-05-2025
- Automotive
- Bloomberg
ISS Recommends Akio Toyoda's Reappointment After Prior Concerns Over Governance
A firm that advises large investors backed the reappointment of Chairman Akio Toyoda to Toyota Motor Corp. 's board, reversing its position from a year ago. 'There are no particular concerns about the nominee,' Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. said in a report Thursday. The world's No. 1 carmaker will hold its annual meeting June 12.
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
GOP Senators Scrutinize Proxy Advisers Over Potential Conflicts
Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee are probing two top proxy advisory firms over potential political bias and conflicts of interest, in a renewed push to subject the industry to greater oversight. 'While your influence over corporate governance has grown substantially, your practices have increasingly departed from sound economic principles, undermining the interests of shareholders and the competitiveness of US capital markets,' Chairman Tim Scott, along with Senators Mike Rounds and Bill Hagerty, wrote in a May 20 letter to Glass Lewis & Co. and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Senator Asks SEC to Probe Firms Advising Against JBS US Listing
Kentucky Senator Rand Paul has asked the top US securities regulator to probe two major firms that have advised their clients to vote against a proposed New York listing by JBS SA, the world's largest meat producer. The Republican lawmaker urged the US Securities and Exchange Commission to review recent assessments made by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass Lewis & Co., according to a May 16 letter sent to the agency's chair Paul Atkins seen by Bloomberg. The companies advise the likes of hedge and mutual funds on shareholder votes.
Wall Street Journal
13-05-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Elliott Wins Backing from Proxy Advisers in Phillips 66 Boardroom Battle
Elliott Investment Management scored a key endorsement this week in its heated proxy battle at oil refiner Phillips 66 PSX 4.51%increase; green up pointing triangle, which is nearing a shareholder vote later this month. On Monday, the activist firm received the backing of the prominent proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services. ISS recommended shareholders elect all four of Elliott's director nominees at Phillips 66's annual meeting set for May 21.
