Jan. 26, 2024 - Important guidance on “acting jointly or in concert” in a proxy contest was provided by the British Columbia Securities Commission (Commission) in NorthWest Copper Corp. (December 22, 2023). The Commission declined to find a joint actor relationship between a dissident and another...
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Short Selling in Canada: A New Avenue for Investor Activism
Chapter 4 of Davies Governance Insights 2019
Over the past few years, short-seller activism has grown from a “low profile affair” to a major challenge for securities regulators and governing boards – and Canadian markets are no exception. In many cases, the consequences of a short-selling activism campaign for a company can be profound: a plunge in share price, the diversion of valuable time and resources, the need to rebuild the company’s reputation and, in some instances, the initiation of a formal regulatory investigation based on the allegations made in the campaign. In this chapter, we examine the emergence of short-selling activism, review the legal and regulatory landscape governing its practice in Canada, compare some regulatory approaches in other jurisdictions and explore the potential responses available to boards of targeted companies. We also discuss some trends in short-selling activity in Canada, and spotlight three prominent examples over the past several years.
This chapter appears in the 2019 edition of Davies Governance Insights, our comprehensive annual report on the trends and issues most important to Canadian public companies.
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Governance Insights: 10 Trends that GCs and Boards Need to Know
Jan. 24, 2024 - The latest edition of Davies’ Governance Insights is now available. In this issue, we explore 10 important trends that will help general counsel and boards navigate the year ahead. In order to help you with your strategic and compliance planning, we discuss issues including the...