Germans to curb AGM 'predators'

Germany is planning a new law to clamp down on "predatory" shareholders.

Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries presented draft legislation this week aimed at blocking stakeholders who take legal action against AGM decisions to force a company into settlements.

The step comes three years after the introduction of a special procedure to speed up implementation of AGM decisions if shareholders contest them in court. A study by Frankfurt University law professor Theodor Baums found those changes had failed to stop "professional plaintiffs", as such shareholders are known in Germany.

"The business model of litigious shareholders, who don't care about the common interest but only about their own financial concerns, is obsolete," Zypries said.

Shareholders with only a small stake in a company would be barred from suing to render AGM decisions void, the ministry said.