LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Philipp Mössner, Anna Lindner, Chara Papagiannidi and Maria Gusinski, GSK Stockmann SA
11.4 Recent Trends Given the size of the Luxembourg market, no particu- lar trends can be identified, but companies targeted by activist shareholders generally vary in terms of market capitalisation. Companies have been facing a changing regulatory and activist landscape in relation to ESG matters, with a rising trend of activist share- holders trying to seize opportunities in the struggling real estate market. 11.5 Most Active Shareholder Groups Given the small size of the Luxembourg equity capital markets, no particular trends can be identified, but short sellers are currently more active than others. 11.6 Proportion of Activist Demands Met No relevant information is publicly available in Luxem- bourg in this respect.
11.7 Company Prevention and Response to Activist Shareholders Issuers are nowadays focusing more on enhancing direct communication with their shareholders in order to identify and manage their expectations. However, when a communicative strategy fails, issuers may rather solicit the support of the company’s long-term investors, who are usually negative about the activities of short sellers and therefore co-ordinate on adopt- ing defensive strategies. Such strategies often aim to protect the company’s board – for example, by setting up a maximum number of directors in the board and/ or by increasing the majority required for the dismissal and/or replacement of the company’s directors.
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