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26 March 2020 By Christopher Thompson Follow @CGAThompson

Amber Capital is pressing ahead with its campaign to oust the French company’s supervisory board. Long-term share underperformance and messy governance provide the justification. With Covid-19 giving companies an excuse to shelve reforms, constructive criticism is still needed.

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Activist fund Amber Capital on March 26 called for Lagardère to oust its supervisory board as it seeks to force a strategic rethink at the Paris-listed media company whose shares have fallen sharply during the coronavirus crisis.

Amber, which holds about 16.4% of Lagardère’s share capital, said it would present its own list of new supervisory board members at Lagardère’s annual shareholder meeting on May 5. Among the candidates are Italian political figure Enrico Letta and Brigitte Taittinger, who holds directorships at HSBC France, Fnac Darty and Suez.

“By voting for a new supervisory board, Lagardère shareholders will give the group the means to free up the driving forces of the publishing and travel retail divisions and allow all stakeholders to benefit,” Amber said.

Shares in Lagardère were up by 3.5% to 10 euros by 0915 GMT on March 26.

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