Ascential PLC held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on May 9, 2024, where all 18 resolutions were passed on a poll. The company's issued share capital as of the meeting date was 445,801,981 with voting rights, and it did not hold any shares in Treasury at the time of the disclosure.
The resolutions covered various matters, including receiving the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended December 31, 2023, electing directors, appointing auditors, authorizing the company to make political donations, allot relevant securities, disapply pre-emption rights, purchase its own shares, and call any general meeting of the company on not less than 14 clear days' notice.
The Board noted that although Resolution 16, which sought to additionally disapply pre-emption rights, was passed and approved by the majority of shareholders, slightly more than 20% of the votes were cast against the Board's recommendation on the resolution. The Board acknowledged that this resolution reflects the updated UK Pre-Emption Group Guidelines on disapplication authorities but recognized that certain shareholders may apply different policies on this matter.
The detailed breakdown of the votes for each resolution was provided, including the percentage of shares for, against, and marked as votes withheld/abstentions. The company emphasized that a vote withheld is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes "For" or "Against" a resolution.
Overall, the AGM resulted in the successful passage of all resolutions, indicating shareholder support for the proposed measures and appointments.