FORM 20-F THOMSON multimedia - Technicolor
FORM 20-F THOMSON multimedia - Technicolor
FORM 20-F THOMSON multimedia - Technicolor
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e proposed to the Board of Directors within ten days of the publication of the preliminary notice in<br />
the BALO by:<br />
) one or several shareholders holding a specified percentage of shares,<br />
) a duly qualified association of shareholders who have held their shares in registered form for<br />
at least two years and who together hold at least 1% of our voting rights, or<br />
) the Workers Council.<br />
The Board of Directors must submit these resolution to a vote of the shareholders.<br />
During the two weeks preceding a meeting of shareholders, any shareholder may submit written<br />
questions to the Board of Directors relating to the agenda for the meeting. The Board of Directors<br />
must respond to these questions.<br />
Attendance and Voting at Shareholders’ Meetings<br />
In general, each shareholder is entitled to one vote per share at any general meeting, except for<br />
holders of shares with double voting rights. Our statuts provide that if a shareholder holds shares in<br />
registered form continuously for a period of more than two years beginning at any time after<br />
October 11, <strong>20</strong>00, such shares will carry the right to two votes per share. This second voting right<br />
will automatically expire for any ordinary share converted from registered to bearer form or for a<br />
change of ownership. However, a change of ownership as part of an estate, in the division of<br />
property between spouses, or in an inter vivos transfer to a spouse or relative entitled to inherit will<br />
not be considered as a change in ownership for the purposes of calculating this two-year ownership<br />
period.<br />
If a shareholder fails to properly notify us, in the manner described below under ‘‘— Requirements<br />
for Holdings Exceeding Certain Percentages’’, on passing the threshold of 1% or integral<br />
multiples thereof, the shares over that threshold may be deprived of their voting right.<br />
Under the French Commercial Code, shares of a company held by entities controlled directly or<br />
indirectly by that company are not entitled to voting rights and do not count for quorum or majority<br />
purposes.<br />
Shareholders may attend ordinary general meetings and extraordinary general meetings and<br />
exercise their voting rights subject to the conditions specified in the French Commercial Code and<br />
our statuts. There is no requirement that a shareholder have a minimum number of shares in order<br />
to attend or to be represented at an ordinary or extraordinary general meeting.<br />
In order to participate in any general meeting, a holder of shares held in registered form must<br />
have its shares registered in its name in a shareholder account maintained by us or on our behalf by<br />
an agent appointed by us at least five days prior to the date set for the meeting. A holder of bearer<br />
shares must obtain a certificate from the accredited intermediary with whom the holder has<br />
deposited its shares. This certificate must indicate the number of bearer shares the holder owns and<br />
must state that these shares are not transferable until the time fixed for the meeting. The holder<br />
must deposit this certificate at the place specified in the notice of the meeting at least five days<br />
before the meeting.<br />
Under a French statute dated May 15, <strong>20</strong>01, shares may be registered in the name of<br />
intermediaries who act on behalf of one or more investors residing outside France. When shares are<br />
so held, we are entitled to request from such intermediaries the name of the investors and the<br />
number of shares held by such investors. Also, we may request any legal person who holds more<br />
than 2.5% of our shares, to disclose the name of any person who owns, directly or indirectly, more<br />
than a third of its share capital or of its voting rights. A person not providing the complete requested<br />
information in time might be deprived by a French court of either its voting rights or its dividends or<br />
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