Corporate governance - Vigil

Soho House is going private in a US$2.7 billion deal led by New York-based MCR Hotels, capping a turbulent market run and financial struggles that erased nearly half of the high-end members club operator’s value since its 2021 debut. Shareholders of Soho will get $9 per share, a 17.8 per cent premium to the closing price on Friday. Its shares shot up 16 per cent in premarket trading to $8.86 after the company’s Monday announcement. Actor and tech investor Ashton Kutcher will also be joining Soho’s board following the deal, and the company named hospitality veteran Neil Thomson as chief financial officer to succeed Thomas Allen effective immediately. Soho was started by restaurateur Nick Jones in 1995 on London’s Greek Street above his restaurant, Cafe Boheme, as a meeting place for creative people. Known for its stylish interiors and exclusivity, the club now has operations across Europe, North America and Asia.

Advent International agreed to buy Swiss tech company U-blox for about $1.30 billion via a public tender offer, U-blox said. The provider of wireless and positioning semiconductors said Advent subsidiary ZI Zenith would launch an offer to buy it for roughly 1.050 billion Swiss francs, or 135.00 francs a share, in cash. The offer represents a 53% premium to U-blox’s average share price over the six months through Aug. 14. U-blox shares will be delisted from the SIX Swiss Exchange after the deal is completed, it said. The transaction, subject to approval, is expected to be settled within the next six months. U-blox said the deal is in the best interests of the company, its shareholders and other stakeholders. The board of directors recommended that shareholders accept the offer and has committed, along with the management team, to tender all their shares.

U.S. consulting company Bain & Co. is raising its bet on Canada with the launch of a new office in Montreal, deepening its relationships in the country at a time of significant upheaval for many businesses. Boston-based Bain, one of the world’s big three management consultancies, will open a bureau in Quebec’s largest city in October, the firm’s executives confirmed. Matthieu Vigneron, a 20-year consulting veteran with expertise in the realms of aerospace, telecom and technology, will lead a team of 30 employees to start. Bain has operated in Canada from a base in Toronto for more than three decades, quadrupling its Canadian operation over the past 15 years and boosting its personnel to 250 people. The Montreal expansion marks its first foothold into another Canadian city, building on a client list that includes financial services companies, retailers, and utilities, as well as investment and private capital funds.

Un juge fédéral a invalidé jeudi deux mesures de l’administration Trump visant à supprimer les programmes de diversité, d’équité et d’inclusion (EDI) dans les écoles et universités du pays. Dans sa décision, la juge de district Stephanie Gallagher, du Maryland, a estimé que le département de l’Éducation avait violé la loi en menaçant de couper le financement fédéral des établissements d’enseignement qui poursuivaient leurs initiatives en matière de diversité, d’équité et d’inclusion. Les directives étaient suspendues depuis avril, lorsque trois juges fédéraux ont bloqué diverses parties des mesures anti-EDI du département de l’Éducation. La décision de jeudi faisait suite à une requête en jugement sommaire déposée par la Fédération américaine des enseignants et l’Association américaine de sociologie, qui avaient contesté les mesures du gouvernement dans une action en justice intentée en février.

The criteria for measuring the efficacy of a board goes beyond checklists and compliance, centering on the lengthy, sometimes bumpy process of establishing and cultivating a culture of trust, strategic engagement and accountability. But what criteria best measures that effectiveness and how are those metrics tracked over time? Hsu Lynch believes tracking board effectiveness over time takes a special mix of qualitative and quantitative measures, which can include regular board and committee self-evaluations, individual director assessments, and ongoing alignment checks between the board’s skills and the company’s strategic needs. “We also look at engagement indicators — the quality of discussions, preparedness and follow-through on key issues — as well as external benchmarking and feedback from management,” says Hsu Lynch. “Ultimately, an effective board is one that evolves alongside the company while staying grounded in its core purpose.”

Investors in Germany’s most valuable fintech N26 are seeking to remove the company’s founders and install its chair as co-chief executive, after financial watchdog BaFin identified fresh concerns. Under an agreement being negotiated between the company’s backers and co-founders, its two co-chief executives would step down by the end of the year, with Valentin Stalf departing by September 1 and Max Tayenthal by December 31, according to people familiar with the matter. Marcus Mosen, currently chair of the supervisory board, is being lined up as an interim co-chief executive, the people added. The turbulence at the top of N26 came after BaFin threatened to hit the bank with fresh sanctions last month. German business publication Manager Magazin first reported the rift with investors.

Activist Starboard Value, one of the first investors to publicly push Salesforce to make changes three years ago, increased its stake in the U.S. software company by almost 50% in the second quarter, according to a regulatory filing on Thursday. The hedge fund reported owning 1.3 million shares in Salesforce on June 30, compared with 849,679 shares at the end of the first quarter when it boosted its stake by almost 52%. The move comes as the company's stock price has lost nearly 30% since January and is off nearly 9% over the last 12 months. Salesforce, which has a market value of $223 billion, came under intense pressure from a handful of activist investors in late 2022 and early 2023. But many who publicly pushed for changes cut their stakes or exited completely by the middle of 2023 after the company reported better results, added a new director to the board and made other changes. Now the pressure may be increasing again with Starboard, which is known to revisit earlier investments if the company is seen as backsliding on promises, loading up on the stock.

Devant la mobilisation citoyenne contre des projets miniers dans certaines régions du Québec, le ministre fédéral de l’Énergie et des Ressources naturelles, Tim Hodgson, se veut rassurant : le gouvernement Carney ne va pas agir dans la précipitation. Tous les projets qui sont dans les cartons feront l’objet d’une évaluation environnementale en bonne et due forme, et ils seront soumis à des consultations publiques. Ils ne pourront voir le jour sans l’accord des provinces et sans « privilégier des partenariats solides » avec les peuples autochtones. M. Hodgson, qui aura son mot à dire dans l’approbation des grands projets d’intérêt national qui seront évalués et approuvés par le gouvernement Carney dans le but de réduire la dépendance du Canada envers le marché américain, a tenu à rassurer les Québécois qui redoutent l’arrivée de projets miniers dans leur région.

Le conglomérat du célèbre investisseur a initié une importante position dans UnitedHealth et a continué d’élaguer son investissement dans le fabricant du iPhone au deuxième trimestre, révèle un document déposé auprès du gendarme boursier américain jeudi. Berkshire Hathaway a acquis pour 6,6 millions d’actions de l’assureur en soins de santé UnitedHealth, sous pression depuis le drame de l’assassinat du patron de sa division United Healthcare Brian Thompson au cœur de Manhattan le 4 décembre 2024. La société est sous le coup de plusieurs enquêtes fédérales, notamment de la part du ministère de la Justice américain. Ces enquêtes portent sur des allégations de pratiques de facturation frauduleuses. Son PDG, Andrew Witty a d’ailleurs démissionné en mai 2025.

The nine law firms that promised President Trump they would perform about $1 billion in pro bono work on his favored causes have embraced broad interpretations of what they owe. Several firms that struck the unprecedented deals have shrugged them off as unenforceable and have taken on little to no additional unpaid work, according to people familiar with the matter. They are hoping Trump has moved on. Others are doing the math to classify the pro bono work they perform anyway to satisfy their commitments to the White House. Kirkland & Ellis, meanwhile, has helped the Trump administration in trade deals, which appears to go beyond what was spelled out in the written agreement. Though the deals involve multibillion-dollar law firms, much of what’s known about them is essentially written on the back of a digital napkin, contributing to the uneven delivery. Trump announced the terms in a series of posts on his Truth Social platform.

Le premier ministre Mark Carney a déclaré qu’il envisageait des mesures pour soutenir les agriculteurs touchés par les droits de douane élevés imposés par la Chine sur les graines de canola, entrés en vigueur jeudi. M. Carney a écrit sur les réseaux sociaux avoir discuté avec le premier ministre de la Saskatchewan, Scott Moe, et qu’ils avaient convenu de poursuivre les discussions avec les groupes agricoles sur les options possibles. Il n’a fourni aucun détail sur un éventuel plan. Les droits de douane de près de 76 %, annoncés mardi, ont déjà entraîné une chute du prix de l’une des cultures les plus lucratives du Canada, faisant perdre des millions de dollars à ce secteur.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington looked forward to exploring cooperation with Pakistan on critical minerals and hydrocarbons, with his comments coming in a statement issued by the State Department on Pakistan's Independence Day. Washington and Islamabad hailed a trade deal last month, which Pakistan said would result in lower tariffs and increased investment. Pakistan's Commerce Minister Jam Kamal has said Islamabad will offer U.S. businesses opportunities to invest in mining projects primarily in the southwestern Balochistan province through joint ventures with local companies, providing concessions such as lease grants. The province is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining firm Barrick Gold and believed to be one of the world's largest gold and copper mines.

More than 60,000 Ontario Public Service workers will be required to return to the office full time starting in January 2026, the province announced Thursday. Minister Caroline Mulroney, who serves as the president of the Treasury Board, made the announcement in a news release and said the transition “represents the current workforce landscape in the province.” Ontario Public Service workers had previously been mandated to work from the office a minimum of three days a week. The province said that, based on the nature of their work, over half of all public servants are already required to attend the office in-person full time. “As the government delivers on our plan to protect Ontario, we will continue to drive public service excellence for the people of Ontario. Effective January 5, 2026, the Ontario Public Service and its provincial agencies, boards and commission public bodies will return to the office full time,” Mulroney wrote.

The World Economic Forum said an investigation into founder Klaus Schwab found minor expense irregularities but no material wrongdoing. The Davos conference organizer also said it was shuffling the leadership of its board in the wake of the probe. The board’s interim chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, a former chief executive of Nestlé, resigned after a meeting of trustees earlier this week to discuss the probe’s conclusions, according to a letter reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. He raised concerns about a “toxic” work environment in his resignation letter, which hasn’t been previously reported. At a meeting on Friday, the Forum appointed two new interim co-chairs to steer the board of trustees: BlackRock boss Larry Fink and Swiss billionaire André Hoffmann.  In a statement Friday, the Forum said the board wants to move on from a dispute with its founder that has roiled the organization. The board said it has concluded “there is no evidence of material wrongdoing” by Schwab or his wife, Hilde Schwab. 

MSNBC is changing its name in its spinoff from Comcast’s NBCUniversal. The left-leaning cable network will rebrand as My Source News Opinion World, or MS NOW, staffers were told on Monday. The shift is part of an effort to distance the network from its NBC heritage and establish its own identity ahead of the planned spinoff of the bulk of NBCUniversal’s cable networks later this year, including CNBC, USA, Oxygen and E!. MSNBC and some other channels that use the iconic peacock logo associated with NBCUniversal brands will also lose that imagery. CNBC will keep its name, which originally stood for Consumer News and Business Channel, and is working on a new logo. The new names and brands will be rolled out later this year, ahead of the completion of the spinoff. 

Le Conseil canadien des relations industrielles (CCRI) qualifie d’« illégale » le débrayage des quelque 10 000 agents de bord d’Air Canada et exhorte ces derniers à retourner au travail. Alors que la journée s’annonce une fois de plus chaotique pour les voyageurs, le tribunal administratif fédéral a rendu une décision, lundi, dans laquelle il ordonne au Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP), à cesser de demander à leurs membres de demeurer sur les piquets de grève. « Les membres sont invités à reprendre immédiatement leurs fonctions et à s’abstenir de participer à des activités de grève illégales », peut-on lire, dans la décision signée par Jennifer Webster, vice-présidente du Conseil. On donne jusqu’à midi aux agents de bord pour se conformer à l’ordonnance. Reste à voir si ces derniers et le SCFP se conformeront. Le syndicat n’avait pas commenté dans l’immédiat.

Le président américain a décollé pour Anchorage, aux confins des États-Unis, où son homologue russe verra se réduire de façon spectaculaire son isolement diplomatique occidental. M. Poutine sera même accueilli par M. Trump à sa descente d’avion. Premier concerné, mais grand absent de ce rendez-vous sur une base militaire emblématique de la guerre froide, le président ukrainien Volodymyr Zelensky a de son côté déclaré « compter » sur Donald Trump pour mettre un terme au conflit dans son pays meurtri. À bord d’Air Force One, M. Trump a mis en avant le « respect » mutuel existant entre lui et Vladimir Poutine, en assurant : « Nous nous entendons bien ».  Le septuagénaire s’est vanté de savoir en « cinq minutes » maximum si sa première rencontre en personne depuis 2019 avec le président russe serait un fiasco.

The economic uncertainty brought about by evolving tariff considerations has had a well-documented impact on many companies’ ability to forecast and plan this year. But a new survey by Corporate Board Member and Long-Term Stock Exchange finds those short-term pressures may have a far-more lasting impact on public companies than many  realize. The survey, of nearly 100 public company CEOs and board members conducted in early July, finds 61 percent of America’s business leaders citing economic uncertainty as their top short-term challenge today—nearly 30 points higher than the second-ranked challenge— with many pointing specifically to the lack of guidance on tariffs and how these trade negotiations will eventually play out for the U.S. economy.  

Lyft said on Thursday its co-founders Logan Green and John Zimmer are stepping down from the ride-hailing services provider's board, following the completion of a two-year transition plan. Green and Zimmer began serving as the chair and vice chair of Lyft's board in 2023 after stepping down as CEO and president, respectively, handing the reins to David Risher, who has been a board member since 2021. The duo founded Lyft in 2012, with the company now operating across four continents and nearly 1,000 cities. Sean Aggarwal, who was the chair of Lyft's board from 2019 to 2023, will reprise his role. Zimmer is launching a new consumer-focused business venture named YES&, while Green will continue as a venture partner at Autotech Ventures, a firm investing in the mobility and transportation sector. Lyft, which recently completed its nearly $200 million acquisition of European mobility platform FreeNow, has signed a deal with China's Baidu (9888.HK), opens new tab to introduce the search-engine giant's robotaxis in the region.

Band-Aid and Tylenol maker Kenvue attracted the attention of another activist investor in the second quarter, with Sachem Head Capital Management reporting that it bought into the stock. Sachem, run by Scott Ferguson, said in a regulatory filing on Thursday that it owned 10.6 million shares in the consumer healthcare company on June 30. According to the filing, Kenvue was the firm's fourth biggest holding at the end of the quarter after Twilio, Talen Energy and Seagate Technology Holdings. Sachem Head declined to comment. The firm is known to quietly push for changes behind the scenes at certain companies, although it mounted a noisy proxy fight at US Foods Holding three years ago. Kenvue, which was spun out of Johnson & Johnson and now has a market value of $40 billion, has faced some of the industry's most prominent activists, including Starboard Value, Third Point and Toms Capital Investment Management, in its two years as a publicly traded company.

Canadian venture capitalists have been less active when it comes to dealmaking this year, according to one expert who says economic uncertainty has kept many investors from expanding their portfolios. “It’s uncertain, and it’s no surprise that Canadian investors are experiencing it,” David Kornacki, director of data and product at the Canadian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association (CVCA), told BNN Bloomberg in an interview on Thursday. “There’s uncertainty just in overall macroeconomic trends but also, we’re seeing a pullback; Canadian venture capital is a risky investment.” Kornacki said that in 2025, investors have been less willing to take on that risk, adding that there’s been a noticeable drop in funding for startups in the early stages of capital raising. “In the pre-seed, seed and Series A stages, there is a pullback, which does drop down investment counts across the board,” he said.

Intel and the Trump administration are discussing the possibility of the U.S. government taking a financial stake in the troubled chip maker, according to people familiar with the matter, in a deal that could advance the president’s America-first manufacturing agenda while relieving political pressure on the company’s beleaguered chief executive. President Trump discussed the idea—which is still in early stages and could fall apart—during a meeting Monday at the White House with Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan, according to some of the people. Details of how such an arrangement would be structured are still being hashed out, the people said. News of the discussions was reported earlier by Bloomberg. Intel shares ended the day up more than 7% and rose further after hours.

More than 100,000 passengers a day are expected to see their travel plans disrupted unless Air Canada and the union representing its flight attendants come to an agreement ahead of a Saturday strike deadline. The impasse, which came to a head Wednesday when the union issued a 72-hour strike notice, hasn’t just upended flight bookings. It has also put thousands of Canadians on the hook for hotels, cruises, sightseeing tours and excursions that many say took years to save for. In total, a complete shutdown of Air Canada and Air Canada Rouge operations could affect about 130,000 passengers’ travel plans daily, Air Canada officials said in a release dated Wednesday. The airline has already begun pre-emptively cancelling flights.

L’entreprise Ovivo, spécialiste des technologies de traitement des eaux d’origine québécoise qui est devenue d’envergure internationale, obtient 2,4 milliards canadiens pour la vente de ses activités dans les industries de haute technologie à l’entreprise américaine Ecolab, dont le principal actionnaire est le multimilliardaire Bill Gates, cofondateur de Microsoft. Cette division représente environ les deux tiers des activités et des effectifs d’Ovivo qui sont répartis dans une quinzaine de pays, et dont le siège social mondial est à Montréal. Mais pour les dirigeants d’Ovivo, dont son président Marc Barbeau, un ex-dirigeant de l’entreprise souche Laperrière & Verreault, et son propriétaire depuis 2016, le groupe industriel allemand SKion GmbH, cette transaction représente « un beau coup de circuit » en matière de création de valeur d’entreprise.

Valentino and Venturini reached a mutual agreement to terminate his employment and board roles, WWD reported, with Valentino saying the executive "has decided to take a break for personal reasons". A Valentino spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters calls. Valentino had said in June that Venturini was on sick leave, after media reports of his imminent departure from the business which reported a decline in revenue and profit last year. Creative director Alessandro Michele, who joined Valentino in March last year from Gucci, is staying on in his role, WWD said, citing sources.