L’affaire Sika : un exemple en faveur d’une approche économique des transferts d’actions soumis à l’agrément de la société
The ongoing litigation between the Swiss company Sika SA and the owners of its Swiss shareholder Schenker-Winkler Holding SA over the sale of the shares of the latter to the French group Compagnie de Saint-Gobain, a competitor of Sika SA, has attracted considerable media and public attention.
When completed, this sale will give Compagnie de Saint-Gobain the effective control over Sika SA through the majority of the votes conferred by shares with privileged voting rights (“actions à droit de vote privilégié”, “Stimmrechtsaktien”) hold by the target company. Until completion, the sellers covenant to use the target company’s voting powers in Sika SA to ensure a smooth change of control. Sika SA’s directors have opposed the transaction since its announcement on the grounds that it will harm Sika SA’s competitiveness and the interests of its public minority shareholders, who mostly support Sika SA’s directors. In an attempt to block a resolution by the sellers to remove the…
