Frankfurt (Reuters) – From the point of view of small shareholders, massive technical problems at the virtual general meeting of the travel group TUI speak in favor of a return to the face-to-face event.
The shareholders’ meeting had to be interrupted for more than two hours on Tuesday, which TUI explained as problems in the IT service provider’s system. Virtual AGMs are not popular with small shareholders, they prefer face-to-face meetings, explained Alexander Vietinghoff-Scheel from the German Association for the Protection of Securities (DSW). The technical failure underscores this position. DSW therefore rejected the amendment to the statutes sought by TUI, which would allow flexible decisions to be made about the form of the AGM in the future. The Protection Association of Investors (SdK) also questioned the benefits of the virtual AGM.
Annual general meetings were moved to the internet three years ago due to the corona pandemic. As a rule, they are still taking place virtually this year, since the infection process was not foreseeable given the necessary long lead time. The legislator enables companies to stay with the virtual form in the future. “We will decide in good time before the next AGM which format is right for us,” explained TUI Supervisory Board Chairman Dieter Zetsche. The experience with the technical problems of this general meeting will be incorporated. 1,450 shareholders attended TUI’s last shareholder meeting in Hanover before the pandemic.
(Report by Ilona Wissenbach; edited by Sabine Wollrab. If you have any questions, please contact the editorial board at [email protected])
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