On February 7, MFA submitted a letter with AIMA in response to a consultation by the Dutch Justice Ministry on a proposed 250-day statutory reflection period for publicly traded Dutch companies facing a non-agreed public bid or a shareholder’s proposal relating to the appointment, dismissal or suspension of directors of these companies. The letter expresses concerns with the proposal regarding the fair treatment of investors and shareholders’ voting rights, potential inconsistency with EU legislation, restrictions on the free movement of capital, and the applicability of the proposal to existing requirements. The letter suggests that if the proposal is adopted, policy makers should consider changes that would:
- Limit the scope of companies subject to the requirements;
- Clarify how it will interact with the already existing 180-day reflective period;
- Require a general meeting to be held at the end of the reflection period and give shareholders additional voting rights at such meeting;
- Increase transparency around the invocation of a reflection period;
