Shareholder Activism in Belgium

Shareholder activism is already an established phenomenon in the US. In Europe, including Belgium, shareholder activism is on the rise and is expected to become more and more important. Investors increasingly voice their discontent instead of opting for the exit. This new attitude will change the dynamic between investors and boards. Gone are the days where shareholders exclusively focused on their financial return. Today, financial objectives are complemented with the realization of ESG (environmental, social and governance) objectives. This push towards sustainability creates new battlefields between investors and boards. Notwithstanding its importance, the topic of shareholder activism has not yet been explored in Belgium legal scholarship. This book, edited by Tom Vos (University of Antwerp, Jean-Pierre Blumberg Chair) and Arie Van Hoe (FEB-VBO), aims to fill this gap. The book explores the present and future of shareholder activism in Belgium. Old and new forms of activism will be presented and situated in their financial and legal context. This will help readers understand whether shareholder activism can be a boon or a curse for sustainable value creation. Many of the contributions of the book are based on presentations at the conference of 9 June 2022 on “shareholder activism in Belgium: boon or curse for sustainable value creation?”, co-organized by the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium (FEB-VBO) and the Jean-Pierre Blumberg Chair at the University of Antwerp (Thursday 9 June 2022).