AGM Information • Mar 4, 2021
AGM Information
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Press Release March 4, 2021
Telia Company AB (publ), reg. no. 556103-4249, ("Telia Company" or "Company") gives notice to the Annual General Meeting 2021 to be held on Monday, April 12, 2021, in Stockholm (the "Meeting").
In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the Meeting will, in accordance with temporary legislation, be held by postal voting only. No meeting with the possibility to attend in person or to be represented by a proxy will take place.
Telia Company welcomes all shareholders to exercise their voting rights at the Meeting through postal voting. Information on the resolutions passed at the Meeting will be published on Monday, April 12, 2021, as soon as the result of the postal voting has been finally confirmed.
Speeches by the chair of the Board of Directors Lars-Johan Jarnheimer and the CEO Allison Kirkby, as well as information and presentations from the Company, will be available in connection with the Meeting on Monday, April 12, 2021. More information regarding this will be available on Telia Company's website www.teliacompany.com..
Those wishing to participate in the Meeting, through postal voting, must
To be entitled to participate in the Meeting, shareholders, whose shares are registered in the name of a nominee (including Finnish shareholders that are registered within the Finnish book-entry system at Euroclear Finland Oy) must re-register such shares in its own name so that the shareholder is entered into the share register as of the record date Wednesday, March 31, 2021. Such re-registration (socalled voting rights registration) may be temporary, and request for such voting rights registration shall be made to the nominee, in accordance with the nominee's routines, at such time in advance as decided by the nominee. Voting rights registration that has been requested by shareholders at such time that the registration has been completed by the nominee no later than Tuesday, April 6, 2021, will be taken into account in the preparation of the share register.
Shareholders may exercise their voting rights at the Meeting only by voting in advance, so-called postal voting, in accordance with Section 22 of the Act (2020:198) on temporary exceptions to facilitate the execution of general meetings in companies and other associations.
A special form shall be used for postal voting. The form is available on Telia Company's website www.teliacompany.com. The postal voting form is considered as the notification of participation in the Meeting.
The completed and signed voting form must be received by Euroclear Sweden (administering the forms on behalf of Telia Company) no later than on Friday, April 9, 2021. The form may be submitted by e-mail to [email protected] or by post to Telia Company AB, "AGM 2021", c/o Euroclear Sweden AB, P.O. Box 191, SE-101 23 Stockholm, Sweden. Shareholders who are natural persons may also cast their postal votes electronically through BankID verification via Euroclear Sweden's website, https://anmalan.vpc.se/euroclearproxy.
Shareholders may not provide special instructions or conditions in the voting form. If so, the vote (i.e. the postal vote in its entirety) is invalid. Further instructions and conditions are included in the form for postal voting.
If the shareholder is a legal entity, a certificate of incorporation or a corresponding document shall be enclosed to the form. If a shareholder votes in postal by proxy, a power of attorney shall be enclosed to the form. Proxy forms are available at the Company's website www.teliacompany.com.
For questions about the postal voting or to have a postal voting form or proxy form sent by post, please contact Euroclear Sweden on phone number +46 (0) 8 402 90 50 (Monday-Friday, 09.00-16.00 CEST) or at the address Telia Company AB, "AGM 2021", c/o Euroclear Sweden AB, P.O. Box 191, SE-101 23 Stockholm, Sweden.
Opening of the Meeting
13.1 Ingrid Bonde
Closing of the Meeting
The Nomination Committee consists of the following persons: Daniel Kristiansson, chair (the Swedish State), Jan Andersson (Swedbank Robur Funds), Lilian Fossum Biner (Handelsbanken Funds) and Javiera Ragnartz (SEB Funds).
The Nomination Committee presents the following proposals:
Luisa Delgado, full name Luisa Deplazes de Andrade Delgado, (born 1966) is a Swiss entrepreneur with an extensive board experience and a diverse background from various leadership roles in large corporates focusing, in particular, on consumer businesses and retail, as well as human resources. She is currently chair of the Board of Schleich, one of Germany's largest toy companies, a Board member of online electronics retailer AO World plc and a supervisory Board member of Ingka Holding (IKEA), global baking company Aryzta and high-quality foods company Zertus, among other. She has previously held positions such as CEO of Safilo Group,
the Italian eyewear company, Executive Board Member in charge of HR at German technology group SAP, and Vice President at Procter & Gamble, for the Nordic region and previously for Human Resources Western Europe. Luisa Delgado holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Geneva, a Master of Laws from King's College/University of London, a Postgraduate Diploma of European Studies from Universidade Lusiada in Lisbon, and more recently the FT Non-Executive Director Diploma.
Information regarding the candidates nominated by the Nomination Committee for election as directors as well as the Nomination Committee's motivated opinion are available on the Company's website www.teliacompany.com.
Item 18 – Resolution on the Nomination Committee
The Nomination Committee proposes the following instruction for the Nomination Committee, which also includes the principles on how the Nomination Committee shall be appointed
The Committee shall be considered a quorum with three (3) ordinary members. Decisions are made with a simple majority and in the event of an equal number of votes, the Chair has the casting vote.
Shareholders or natural persons involved in business activities that compete with Telia Company shall always be disqualified as Nominating Shareholders and as members of the Committee.
We're Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our approximately 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the world's most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, we're the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, we're set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at www.teliacompany.com
The Committee shall review this instruction annually and as necessary propose changes thereto to the annual general meeting.
We're Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our approximately 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the world's most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, we're the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, we're set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at www.teliacompany.com
Regarding Board members:
Regarding auditors:
Jan Andersson, representing Swedbank Robur Funds, and Javiera Ragnartz, representing SEB Funds, or if one or both of them are unable to attend, the person or persons instead appointed by the Board of Directors, are proposed to be elected to approve the minutes of the Meeting together with the chair.
The task of approving the minutes of the Meeting also includes verifying the voting list and that the postal votes received are correctly stated in the minutes of the Meeting.
The voting list proposed for approval is the voting list drawn up by Euroclear Sweden on behalf of Telia Company, based on the Meeting's share register and postal votes received, as verified and recommended by the persons approving the minutes of the Meeting.
The Board of Directors proposes that the income statement, the balance sheet, the consolidated income statement and the consolidated balance sheet for 2020, as presented in the annual and sustainability report 2020, is adopted by the Meeting.
The Board of Directors proposes that a dividend of SEK 2.00 per share is distributed to the shareholders in two equal payments of SEK 1.00 per share.
The record date for the first payment is proposed to be on Wednesday, April 14, 2021, and for the second payment on Thursday, October 28, 2021. If the Meeting resolves in accordance with the proposal, it is estimated that Euroclear Sweden will execute the first payment on Monday, April 19, 2021, and the second payment on Tuesday, November 2, 2021.
It is proposed that the Meeting discharge the following persons from personal liability towards the Company for the administration of the Company in 2020.
Ingrid Bonde (member as of April 2, 2020) Rickard Gustafson Lars-Johan Jarnheimer Jeanette Jäger (member as of April 2, 2020) Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo (member until April 2, 2020) Nina Linander Jimmy Maymann Anna Settman Olaf Swantee Martin Tivéus
Agneta Ahlström Stefan Carlsson Hans Gustavsson Martin Sääf (deputy during three board meetings)
Allison Kirkby (CEO as of May 4, 2020) Christian Luiga (deputy CEO until May 4, 2020)
The Board of Directors proposes that the Meeting adopt the Board of Directors' report on remuneration pursuant to Chapter 8, Section 53 a of the Swedish Companies Act (2005:551).
We're Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our approximately 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the world's most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, we're the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, we're set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at www.teliacompany.com
The remuneration report will be available on the Company's website www.teliacompany.com from Monday, March 22, 2021.
The Board of Directors proposes that the Meeting authorize the Board of Directors to decide on repurchase of own shares on the main terms and conditions set out below:
Furthermore, the Board of Directors proposes that the Meeting authorize the Board of Directors to decide on transfer of own shares, with or without deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, on the main terms and conditions set out below:
The purpose of the authorizations to repurchase and transfer the Company's own shares, and the reason for the deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights, is to enable the Company in a time efficient way to use its own shares as payment in connection with acquisitions of companies or businesses which the Company may undertake, or to settle any deferred payments related to such acquisitions, or for financing such acquisitions or deferred payments.
The purpose of the authorization to repurchase the Company's own shares is also to provide the Board of Directors with an instrument to adapt and improve the Company's capital structure and thereby create added value for the shareholders, and/or to give a possibility to the Company to transfer own shares to the participants in the Company's long-term incentive programs. Please note that any subsequent transfer of such repurchased shares to the participants in the long-term incentive programs requires a separate resolution by the Meeting as set out in item 20 (b) below.
The Board of Directors has the right to decide on the other terms and conditions for the repurchase and transfer of own shares. The Board of Directors may also authorize the chair of the Board of Directors to make any minor adjustments that may prove necessary to carry out the Board of Directors' resolution to repurchase and transfer the Company's own shares.
The remuneration framework within the Telia Company group (the "Group") may consist of fixed base pay, short-term variable pay, functional variable pay, long-term incentives, pensions and other benefits. Several key employees participate in long-term incentive programs approved at previous annual general meetings. All in all, these parts constitute an integrated remuneration package. In accordance with the decisions of the annual general meetings 2010-2020 neither short-term nor long-term variable cash remuneration is paid to members of the Telia Company Group Executive Management team.
The Board of Directors have carried out reviews of the Performance Share Program to ensure that it continues to meet its stated objectives – i.e. to strengthen the ability to recruit and retain talented key employees, drive long-term company performance, align key employees' interests with those of the shareholders and encourage key employee shareholding. As a result of this review, the Board of Directors considers that a long-term incentive program should be implemented for key employees of the Group also this year.
In order to strengthen the link to long-term company performance, as well as to align the program with market trends, the following main changes are proposed to the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 as compared to the Performance Share Program 2020/2023:
The long-term incentive program proposed by the Board of Directors to be implemented during 2021, relating to the financial years 2021-2023 and that may result in so-called performance shares being received during the spring of 2024 (the "Performance Share Program 2021/2024"), is further described below.
The Performance Share Program 2021/2024 shall be offered to approximately 200 key employees within the Group. Provided that certain performance conditions, consisting of financial targets linked to EBITDA, TSR and ROCE, are met during the financial years 2021-2023 (the "Performance Period"), participants in the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 shall be given the opportunity to receive Telia Company shares without consideration ("Performance Shares").
Participants in the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 will be granted a conditional award over Performance Shares, which is a right to receive a specific number of such shares at a future date provided the relevant conditions are met. The maximum number of Performance Shares which can be subject to an award at the time of grant remains unchanged from 2020. Under the Performance Share Program
We're Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our approximately 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the world's most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, we're the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, we're set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at www.teliacompany.com
2021/2024, the number of Performance Shares subject to an award at the time of grant may not have an aggregate market value which exceeds 30 percent of the participant's annual gross base salary (i.e. before taxes) per year-end 2020 or, if a participant has become employed thereafter, the calculated annual gross base salary for 2021 (the "2020 Base Salary").
Further, the maximum aggregate market value of Performance Shares which can be received by a participant following the end of the Performance Period (i.e. on the vesting of the award when the participant becomes entitled to receive their shares) shall not exceed 60 percent of the participant's annual gross base salary (i.e. before taxes) per year-end 2023 (the "2023 Base Salary").
The receipt of Performance Shares is normally subject to continued employment within the Group up to and including the day of publication of the interim report for the first quarter 2024.
Participants will receive their Performance Shares following the publication of the Company's interim report for the first quarter 2024.
The Performance Share Program 2021/2024 shall in total comprise of no more than 2,764,502 Telia Company's shares, which corresponds to approximately 0.07 percent of the total number of outstanding shares in the Company.
The Board of Directors' full proposal is set out in item (a) below.
The participants' rights to receive Performance Shares under the program are not securities and cannot be pledged or transferred to others. Neither are any shareholders' rights transferred to participants in the program prior to the day when they receive their Performance Shares and become the owners of the shares. An estimated market value of the conditional rights to receive Performance Shares can however be calculated. The Board of Directors has calculated the total value for the rights to receive Performance Shares under the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 as approximately SEK 60.0 million, under the following essential assumptions: (i) a share price of SEK 34.73, calculated as the average of the daily noted volumeweighted purchase price of the Company's shares on Nasdaq Stockholm's official list during December 2020, (ii) an annual employee turnover of five percent, (iii) a share price appreciation of five percent per year, (iv) a 50 percent achievement of the TSR condition, (v) a 100 percent achievement of the ROCE performance condition and (vi) and a 50 percent achievement of the EBITDA performance condition. The total cost under these conditions would be SEK 96.0 million excluding the costs for the program's hedging measures and assuming a 60 percent mark-up for social security costs and pensions. The costs are accounted for as staff costs (share-based benefits) over the three-year Performance Period.
If the EBITDA performance condition is achieved to 100 percent whilst assumptions (i) through (v) remain unchanged, the total value of the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 is estimated to be approximately SEK 72.0 million. The total cost would in this case be SEK 115.2 million.
If EBITDA, TSR and ROCE performance conditions are achieved to 100 percent, the total value of the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 would amount to SEK 96.0 million assuming conditions (i) through (iii) remain unchanged. The total costs would in this case amount to SEK 153.6 million.
The Performance Share Program 2021/2024 will not entail any dilution effect, as the program is proposed to be hedged by either treasury shares or a hedging arrangement with a bank or another financial institution relating to already issued shares.
The costs for the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 are expected to have a marginal effect on the Group's key ratios.
The proposal regarding the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 to the Meeting has been prepared by the Company's Remuneration Committee and the Board of Directors has resolved to present this proposal to the Meeting.
The Board of Directors has considered two alternative hedging structures for the Performance Share Program 2021/2024; either (i) the transfer of shares held by the Company itself to participants in the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 or (ii) a hedging arrangement with a bank or other financial institution securing delivery of shares under the program. The Board of Directors considers the first alternative as its preferred option. However, should the annual general meeting not approve the proposed transfer of own shares to participants in the program, in accordance with item (b) below, the Board of Directors may enter into a hedging arrangement with a third party to hedge the obligations of the Company to deliver Performance Shares under the program.
Since the social security costs are not expected to be significant in comparison with the Company's operating cash flow, such costs are intended to be financed by cash and bank holdings.
The Board of Directors proposes that the Meeting resolves to (i) implement the Performance Share Program 2021/2024, based on no more than 2,764,502 Performance Shares, and on the further main terms and conditions set out in item (a) below, and (ii) transfer own shares to participants in the program, and to subsidiaries within the Group, in order to secure their obligations to deliver Performance Shares under the program, in accordance with item (b) below.
1 EBITDA is defined as Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization, with a possibility for the Board of Directors to make adjustments for extraordinary events and/or exchange rate fluctuations.
We're Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our approximately 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the world's most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, we're the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, we're set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at www.teliacompany.com
companies defined by the Board of Directors ("TSR Comparator Group")2 , and 25 percent on the Company's ROCE target during the Performance Period ("ROCE Part").
2 TSR is equal to the overall return a shareholder would receive on his or her shareholding taking into account both share price appreciation and dividends (if any). When calculating TSR, an average TSR-index number for December 2020 shall be compared with December 2023 for the Company and for the companies included in the peer group defined by the Board of Directors. The peer group presently consists of Telenor ASA, Elisa Oyj, Tele2 AB, KPN NV, Orange SA, Deutsche Telekom AG, Vodafone Group Plc, Telefonica SA, Proximus PLC and Swisscom AG.
We're Telia Company, the New Generation Telco. Our approximately 21,000 talented colleagues serve millions of customers every day in one of the world's most connected regions. With a strong connectivity base, we're the hub in the digital ecosystem, empowering people, companies and societies to stay in touch with everything that matters 24/7/365 on their terms. Headquartered in Stockholm, the heart of innovation and technology, we're set to change the industry and bring the world even closer for our customers. Read more at www.teliacompany.com
The performance outcome will be determined by the Board of Directors after the expiry of the Performance Period (December 31, 2023), in 2024. In connection therewith the Board of Directors will also publish the performance results.
The transfer of own shares to participants in the Performance Share Program 2021/2024, and to subsidiaries within the Group in order to secure their obligations to deliver Performance Shares under the program, may be made on the following terms and conditions.
The reason for this proposed deviation from the shareholders' preferential rights is because the transfer of own shares is an integral part of the implementation of the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 and the Board of Directors considers that the implementation of the Performance Share Program 2021/2024 will be to the advantage of the Company and the shareholders as it offers participants the opportunity to become shareholders in the Company.
The Board of Directors proposes that the resolutions under items (a) and (b) above will be voted on at the Meeting as two separate resolutions. The proposal under item (b) on the proposed transfer of shares is
conditional on the Meeting having approved item (a), i.e. the implementation of the proposed Performance Share Program 2021/2024.
Item 21 – Proposal from the shareholder Oliver Brown regarding resolution on reversed split of the Telia Company share whereby three existing shares of the company will be consolidated into one share (1:3 reversed share split). The reversed split shall be done in order to enable increased (i) trading in the share, (ii) respect for the share, (iii) earnings per share and (iv) dividend per share.
Item 22 – Proposal from the shareholder Carl Axel Bruno that the Company shall review its routines around that letters shall be answered within two months from the date of receipt.
The Board of Directors proposes that the Meeting rejects the shareholder proposals under items 21 and 22.
Speeches by the chair of the Board of Directors Lars-Johan Jarnheimer and by the CEO Allison Kirkby will be posted on the Company's website www.teliacompany.com in connection with the Meeting on Monday, April 12, 2021.
The total number of shares and votes in the Company is 4 089 631 702 at the date this notice is issued. On the same date, the Company holds no treasury shares.
At the request of any shareholder, the Board of Directors and the CEO shall provide information at the Meeting on any circumstances that (i) may affect the assessment of a matter on the agenda, (ii) may affect the assessment of the Company's or a subsidiary's financial situation or (iii) concerns the Company's relation to another group company, provided that the Board of Directors believes it would not be of significant detriment to the Company.
A request for such information shall be made by post to Telia Company AB, att. General Counsel Jonas Bengtsson, SE-169 94 Solna, Sweden, or by e-mail to [email protected] no later than on Friday, April 2, 2021. The shareholder must include name, personal or organization number and postal address, for the question to be answered. The shareholder should also state its email address and phone number.
The information will be made available at Telia Company AB, Stjärntorget 1, SE-169 79 Solna, Sweden, from Wednesday, April 7, 2021, at the latest. The information will, from the same date, also be available on the Company's website www.teliacompany.com. The information will also be sent, within the same period of time, to the shareholders who request the Company to do so and stated their postal address.
Valid resolutions to authorize the Board of Directors to decide on repurchase and transfer of the Company's own shares under item 19 require support by shareholders holding at least two-thirds of both the votes cast and shares represented at the Meeting.
A valid resolution on implementation of the proposed long-term incentive program under item 20 (a) requires support by a simple majority of the votes cast. A valid resolution on transfer of own shares to the participants in the program under item 20 (b) requires support by shareholders representing at least nine-tenths of both the votes cast and shares represented at the Meeting.
The Board of Directors' proposals are set out above. Information regarding all directors proposed to the Board of Directors of Telia Company as well as the Nomination Committee's proposals and motivated opinion are available on the Company's website www.teliacompany.com.
The 2020 annual and sustainability report, the audit report, the consolidated financial statements and the auditor's report on the consolidated financial statements for 2020 will be available from Thursday, March 11, 2021. The remuneration report, the statement of the auditor regarding the application of guidelines for remuneration and the Board of Directors' statements under Chapter 18, Section 4 and Chapter 19, Section 22 of the Swedish Companies Act will be available from Monday, March 22, 2021. The documentation is considered as presented to the Meeting by being held available at Telia Company and on Company's website www.teliacompany.com. The documents can also be obtained from the following address: Telia Company AB, c/o Euroclear Sweden AB, P.O. Box 191, SE-101 23 Stockholm, Sweden, or by phone number +46 (0)8 402 90 50 and will be sent to the shareholders who request the Company to do so and state their postal address.
The Company's share register will be provided at Stjärntorget 1, SE-169 79 Solna, Sweden.
The Board of Directors, or such person that the Board of Directors may appoint, shall be authorized to make the minor adjustments in the resolutions adopted by the Meeting as may be required in connection with registration at the Swedish Companies Registration Office and Euroclear Sweden and to take such other measures required to execute the resolutions.
For information on how your personal data is processed, see www.euroclear.com/dam/ESw/Legal/Privacy-notice-bolagsstammor-engelska.pdf.
Telia Company Group Data Protection Officer: [email protected]
Telia Company AB Group Data Protection Officer Stjärntorget 1 SE-169 94 Solna Sweden Phone number: +46 (0)8 504 550 00
Stockholm, March 2021 Telia Company AB (publ) The Board of Directors
For more information, please contact our press office +46 771 77 58 30, visit our Newsroom or follow us on Twitter @Teliacompany.
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