A case study supporting PrimeStone advances in Brenntag SE
Insights - Publications

In 2023, PrimeStone hired D.F. King, part of Link Group, to aid them in their attempts to get two independent directors elected to the supervisory board of Brenntag SE. The addition of two extra candidates would require an article of amendments change to expand the board to eight, typically needing 75% of votes cast to support it. PrimeStone assumed that such a challenge would be unachievable with their 2% hold of Brenntag.

Instead, PrimeStone decided to propose their two candidates via counter motions where candidates are proposed in direct opposition to the management’s candidates, rather than being added to agenda as regular shareholder proposals.

Despite starting at such a disadvantage and encountering many obstacles, D.F. King helped PrimeStone conduct a strong campaign and using a compelling financial backstory of Brenntag’s failure to maintain the pace against its international peers to their benefit. This sent a significant signal to Brenntag that its current strategy would no longer satisfy many of their investors and allowed them to secure enough votes to set PrimeStone up with the network and support they will need if they want to pursue further strategic change at Brenntag.

D.F. King, a division of Link Group, provides comprehensive advisory and execution services for equity and debt transactions and is the only provider with far reaching international experience in communication campaigns involving shares and bonds. Interested to learn how our international reach can assist you? Visit our website to find out more, and to contact us.