Exclusive invite-only event

3 March 12:00 – 13:45 CET

Agenda

12:00 Welcome
12:05 Participants’ round of introduction
12:15 Keynote: 
12:50 Open discussion
  • Think thank
  • Deepening of the discussion
  • Sharing best practices
13:45 Final thoughts

Shareholder activism is increasing round the globe.  Previously mainly confined to the US, shareholder activists are now challenging companies across the world.  But how seriously does a board need to take an activist?  How do they operate and where are the boundaries between what you have to give them and what you don’t, legally and, more importantly, from an IR perspective?  At this session, Alasdair Steele and Charles Howarth from CMS London office will be discussing some of the ins and outs of the shareholder activist world.

Speakers

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Alasdair Steele
Partner
Head of Equity Capital Markets
CMS

Howarth_Charles_online

Charles Howarth
Partner
CMS

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Dr. Hilke Herchen
Partner, Rechtsanwältin
CMS

jonathan-marsh-president-ecla

Jonathan Marsh
ECLA President
Vice President, International General Counsel
TotalEnergies Marketing & Services

DISCUSSION MATERIALS

The components used during the roundtable can be downloaded by clicking the links below.

Presentation: M&A Trends in Europe

CMS European M&A Study 2021

Road to recovery: European M&A Outlook 2022

Louise Wallace

Stefan Brunnschweiler

Alasdair Steele
Partner
Head of Equity Capital Markets

Alasdair is a Partner in our Corporate Team at CMS London and Head of Equity Capital Markets. He specialises in UK and cross-border corporate finance, including public and private M&A, strategic investments and primary and secondary equity issues, as well as regularly advising on infrastructure consortia and corporate joint venture arrangements. He regularly advises quoted companies and financial intermediaries on the UKLA Listing Rules and Disclosure Rules, the Prospectus Rules, the AIM Rules, the Takeover Code and general company law. Alasdair has a particular focus on the Infrastructure and Technology sectors and regularly visits clients, investors and advisers in China and India.

https://cms.law/en/gbr/people/alasdair-steele

Charles Howarth
Partner

Charles is a Partner in the Corporate Team at CMS London, advising underwriters and issuers in the UK, the rest of Europe and worldwide in relation to securities offerings and other transactions, as well as regulatory and corporate governance matters.

Charles advises companies from major international corporations to start-ups and investment banks on transactions in the UK, the rest of Europe and worldwide, including initial public offerings, rights issues and secondary market offerings, share placings, acquisitions and disposals, demergers convertible bonds, global depositary receipts and stock exchange listings.

https://cms.law/en/gbr/people/charles-howarth

Dr. Hilke Herchen
Partner, Rechtsanwältin
CMS

Hilke Herchen is a Corporate/M&A partner based in Hamburg. She has been a partner with CMS since 2008. Hilke specialises in advising on corporate group law matters with a particular focus on corporate governance issues and complex transactions, especially complex joint venture structures. She also advises strategic investors on mergers and acquisitions restructurings. Her clients include international groups, large and medium-sized companies in Germany and abroad, in particular from the energy (renewable energy) and TMC (technology, media and communications) sectors with strong links to technology in the automotive industry.

Hilke’s work is highly recommended in law firm guides. For many years, she has been named a “Leading Advisor in Corporate Law” in JUVE Handbook German Commercial Law Firms. She has also been listed as “Lawyer of The Year for Corporate Law” by Handelsblatt in cooperation with Best Lawyers 2023. Furthermore, clients describe her as “masterful in both professional and tactical respect” (JUVE Handbook German Commercial Law Firms).

Hilke is co-editor of the renown legal journal NJW and member of the Commercial Law Committee of the German Bar Association.

https://cms.law/en/deu/people/hilke-herchen

Jonathan Marsh
ECLA President & Vice President, International General Counsel, TotalEnergies Marketing Services

Jonathan Marsh has developed extensive experience over the past 29 years in international business transactions, with over 20 years’ experience in the energy sector, involving long term projects with long investment horizons.  He has deep knowledge of geopolitical and legal risk assessments.  Recognized within his profession, Mr. Marsh serves in leadership roles in French and European professional associations. Jonathan Marsh currently serves as Deputy General Counsel of the Marketing Services Division of the Total S.A. Group legal department.  In this role Mr. Marsh manages the legal activities performed by 170 in-house legal counsel in over 100 countries.  He serves on the Group Legal Committee consisting of 10 General Counsel supervising the global team of 550 lawyers in the Total Group. Previously Mr. Marsh was International General Counsel from 2015 to 2017.

From 2002 to 2015, Mr. Marsh led the Mergers, Acquisitions and Finance Division of the Total S.A. Holding Group Legal Department.Mr. Marsh also served as Group US Counsel, supervising in particular relations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mr. Marsh also serves as President of the European Company Lawyers Association, as Vice President International Affairs and on the Board of Directors of the French In-house Counsel Association (Association Française des Juristes d’Entreprises – AFJE) as well as on the Management Committee of the French M&A Association (Association des Responsables de Fusions Acquisitions).

Mr. Marsh holds a Juris Doctor (Graduating cum laude and recipient of the Order of the Coif), and a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations (Economic Phases) and French from the University of Wisconsin ‐ Madison.  Nominated by the French Prime Minister, Mr. Marsh participated in the 65thNational Session (2012-13) of the French Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale, a military training program focusing on geopolitical risks and strategies for high ranking military officers and private sector leaders.