Portugal Telecom has called for a General Meeting to abolish the special rights of the Portuguese State in the company and thereby comply with a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling. The meeting will be held on 26 July.
The General Meeting was…
Portugal Telecom has called for a General Meeting to abolish the special rights of the Portuguese State in the company and thereby comply with a European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruling. The meeting will be held on 26 July.
The General Meeting was requested by the Portuguese government and will take place more than a year after the court decision declaring the state’s golden shares in the former incumbent unlawful.
To comply with the ruling PT’s articles of association will need to be amended, thereby eliminating the special rights attached to shares held by the Portuguese state.
In early July 2010 the ECJ had ruled that the golden shares owned by the Portuguese State are a violation of the EU’s free movement of capital requirements.
Portugal last used its golden share veto rights a year ago in late June to block the proposed sale of PT’s stake in Brazilian network provider Vivo to Telefonica despite the deal receiving approval by a majority of nearly 75% of PT shareholders at the time.
Only weeks after the ECJ’s ruling declaring the golden shares unlawful, PT and Telefonica agreed on a transaction which saw PT exiting Vivo while acquiring a minority stake in its Brazilian rival Oi.