Shareholder Activism in French Listed Companies

Asma Amri and Philippe Dessertine

Given the nature of shareholder activism in France, some policies and strategies adopted in Anglo-Saxon countries may not be relevant. Therefore, it is important to study the strategies used by shareholder activists in France and understand how they are involved in French companies’ governance. The purpose of this paper is to outline the control mechanism used by activist shareholders in French companies through shareholder proposals. This form of activism is currently one of the most common practices in France. We focus on the impact of shareholder proposals on firm performance pertaining to resolutions’ submission. The results show that there is no significant market reaction following the announcement date of an activist campaign. The cumulative average abnormal returns are statistically insignificant over different event window. These findings are important for activist investors who consider investing in French listed companies.

Key Words: Shareholder activism, sponsor, shareholder proposal, abnormal returns, market reaction, annual meeting, CAC 40

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.21102/graf.2015.09.62.07