Shareholder activism is rising around the globe and at home. The practice made headlines recently when Disney fended off activist investors and locally in South Africa when petrochemicals giant Sasol won an appeal opposed by activist investors related to emissions at its Secunda plant.
Both investors and investee companies have clear legal rights and responsibilities when it comes to shareholder activism—a trend that is catching on fast in South Africa. There are stories in the news every day on how companies are getting checked on their behaviour, ESG performance, profitability, transparency and board composition. This trend is further boosted by how easily shareholders or the public can gain access to company information via digital platforms and comment just as publicly these days, especially on platforms like X (formerly Twitter).
