Capricorn Energy U-turns on merger following shareholder campaign
Capricorn Energy announced on Wednesday that its deal to merge with Israel-based energy company, NewMed Energy, would be “terminated with immediate effect” after “taking into consideration the views expressed by shareholders”.
The proposed merger dates back to September 2022, when Capricorn decided to scrap a merger with Tullow Oil and replace it with a partnership with NewMed Energy. Capricorn stated that the new deal would make it “one of the largest upstream energy independents listed in London”.
Palliser Capital, which owns 7% of Capricorn, then launched a campaign in December arguing that the £700 million being put into the deal should instead be distributed to shareholders. Palliser’s campaign was supported by other large shareholders as well as proxy advisors Glass Lewis and ISS.
All this pressure has done more than just stop the deal from happening. In January, seven directors on Capricorn’s board quit in connection to Palliser Capital’s campaign, including the company’s CEO, with only two directors deciding to stay.
No place for Oasis on The Restaurant Group’s board
The Restaurant Group (TRG), the owner of restaurant chains Wagamama and Frankie & Benny’s, has rejected a request from activist investor Oasis Management for a seat on its board.
Oasis, which owns a 6.5% stake in TRG, has blamed the company’s board for its weakening share price, citing a “ failure of oversight”. In a letter to TRG, Oasis requested a place on the company’s board of directors as well as a strategic review which is to be conducted by an independent bank.
Responding to the letter, TRG said that the company has been “resilient”, and that its operational performance since the COVID-19 pandemic has been strong relative to the wider UK casual dining sector. While TRG has agreed to continue engaging with Oasis, they won’t be allocating the investor a board seat.
BP climate-target changes “disregard” shareholder vote, says investor
BP made the decision to adjust its 2030 emissions goals last week, which has left some shareholders feeling like their votes are being disregarded by the energy company.
At the company’s May 2022 AGM, the “Say on Climate” vote received 88% support from shareholders, an effective endorsement of BP’s emissions goals which at the time included reducing oil and gas production by 35–40% by 2030, compared to a 2019 baseline.
Now, this goal has been changed to a 20–30% reduction by 2030. Colin Baines, stewardship manager at Border to Coast, a UK local government pension pool representing £38 billion, told Responsible Investor that this change to the company’s climate goals is “very disappointing in principle”, as it disregards the shareholder vote that happened less than a year before.
BP defended its decision emphasising that it plans to increase spending on low-carbon businesses by $8 billion in the next eight years, and that the decision was made in relation to the current energy-security issues resulting from the war in Ukraine.
Job cuts loom over Lenovo’s workforce
In its 2022 Q3 earnings announcement, Lenovo — the world’s largest PC seller — announced falling revenues and net income. Its Q3 group revenue fell by 24% to $15.3 billion compared to the same period last year, while its net profits fell by 31% to $447 million.
The Register reported that during the earnings call, Lenovo’s CEO Yang Yuanqing said that the company would need to make workforce adjustments in order to cut expenses. This comes after Lenovo’s revenue declined for the second consecutive quarter, with Yuanqing saying that “the smart devices market is in its worst period”.
Lenovo isn’t the only PC company to suffer financially, as a report by research firm Gartner noted a collapse in global PC demand in the fourth quarter of 2022, due to economic uncertainty. Late last year, competitor Dell also announced that it will be cutting 5% of its workforce, meaning job losses for around 6,500 of its employees.
