Toshiba Corp. sought government help in an attempt to influence a key vote that installed its slate of directors at last year’s general shareholders meeting, an independent probe has found, in a vindication for investor activism in Japan.
The voting, which went against nominees put up by Singapore-based Effissimo Capital Management, wasn’t fairly managed, according to the results of an investigation by several law firms that Toshiba shared. The Japanese electronics-to-energy conglomerate "devised a plan to effectively prevent shareholders” from exercising their rights, working with the trade ministry to counter activist investors.
The firm worked in unison with the ministry to exert pressure on 3D Investment Partners, now its third-largest shareholder, which impacted its voting decisions, and worked to exert influence over how Harvard University’s endowment fund would vote. As a result, the annual general meeting (AGM) "was not fairly managed,” the 139-page report overseen by three lawyers concluded.