PUBLICIS GROUPE
NYSE Euronext Paris: PUB                                         Meeting Date: 5/28/2014

Publicis’ upcoming meeting may be marked more by what is not on the agenda than by what is actually presented for a shareholder vote. Only a few short weeks before the meeting, the Company made a surprising announcement that it was cancelling the much touted merger with Omnicom to become one of the world’s biggest marketing firms. Although Publicis had promised to call a special meeting later in the year to allow shareholders to vote on the merger, such plans have obviously been scrapped. Following reports of multi-billion dollar client losses and wasted costs on the merger effort, expect shareholders to direct tough questions to the board and management at the meeting. Allegations of short-sighted planning may also heighten the scrutiny of CEO Maurice Lévy’s pay package, which is submitted for an advisory vote for the second time. In 2013, just over 20% of shareholders voted against the advisory say on pay. With no changes made to Mr. Lévy’s entirely short-term performance weighted pay package, which is remarkably out of line with Publicis’ peers, shareholders may again send a signal to the board that such a pay structure is unacceptable.

 

DEUTSCHE BANK (see Proxy Season Insider here)
Deutsche Borse:  DBK                                              Meeting Date 5/22/2014

ENEL S.p.A. (see Proxy Season Insider here)
Borsa Italiana:  ENEL                                              Meeting Date 5/22/2014

URBAN OUTFITTERS, INC. (see Proxy Season Insider here)
NASDAQ:  URBN                                              Meeting Date 5/27/2014

ILUKA RESOURCES LIMITED
Australian Stock Exchange:  ILU                                              Meeting Date 5/28/2014

ALCATEL-LUCENT
NYSE Euronext Paris:  ALU                                              Meeting Date 5/28/2014