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Metso Outotec Oyj — Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement 2021
Feb 16, 2021
3228_rns_2021-02-16_ca73ea86-6ba2-4809-b942-412470cf8a79.html
Proxy Solicitation & Information Statement
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Notice to the Annual General Meeting of Metso Outotec Corporation
Notice to the Annual General Meeting of Metso Outotec Corporation
Metso Outotec Corporation’s stock exchange release on February 16, 2021, at
09:15 a.m. EET
Notice to the Annual General Meeting of Metso Outotec Corporation
Notice is given to the shareholders of Metso Outotec Corporation (“Metso
Outotec” or the “Company”) to the Annual General Meeting (the “General Meeting”)
to be held on April 23, 2021 at 2.00 p.m. (EEST) at Sanomatalo at the address
Töölönlahdenkatu 2, FI-00100 Helsinki, Finland.
The Company’s Board of Directors has resolved on exceptional meeting procedures
based on the temporary legislative act to limit the spread of the Covid-19
pandemic (677/2020), which entered into force on October 3, 2020. In order to
ensure the health and safety of the shareholders, employees and other
stakeholders of the Company, the General Meeting will be organized without
shareholders’ and their proxy representatives’ presence at the General Meeting
venue. Shareholders can participate in the General Meeting and use their
shareholder rights in connection with the General Meeting by voting in advance
(either personally or through a proxy representative), by submitting
counterproposals in advance and by asking questions in advance in the manner
described below. Proxy representatives must also vote in advance in the manner
described below. For further instructions, please refer to Section C.
“Instructions for the participants in the General Meeting” of this notice.
A pre-recorded presentation by the Company’s President and CEO, Pekka Vauramo,
and the Chair of the Board, Mikael Lilius, will be published on the Company’s
website on April 1, 2021. The presentation is not a part of the General Meeting.
The General Meeting can be followed via a video stream on the Company’s website
at www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/. Following the video
stream is not considered to be official participation in the General Meeting and
it is not possible to ask questions or vote via the video stream during the
General Meeting. After the General Meeting, the streaming will continue in the
form of a separate virtual event, in which participants of the virtual event
will have the possibility to ask questions from the Company representatives.
These questions are not questions referred to in Chapter 5, Section 25 of the
Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act, which must be delivered in advance as
described below. More information on the possibility to participate in the
virtual event will be presented on Metso Outotec’s website at the above
-mentioned address. The virtual event is not part of the General Meeting, and it
will be held principally in Finnish. Shareholders are requested to note that the
virtual event will be held only if it can be arranged in compliance with all
regulatory rules and restrictions imposed by the Finnish authorities due to the
Covid-19 pandemic.
A. Matters on the Agenda of the General Meeting
At the General Meeting, the following matters will be considered:
-
Opening of the General Meeting
-
Calling the General Meeting to Order
Attorney-at-law Mikko Heinonen will act as the Chairman of the General Meeting.
If due to weighty reasons Mikko Heinonen is not able to act as the Chairman, the
Board of Directors will appoint another person who it deems most suitable to act
as the Chairman.
- Election of a person to scrutinize the minutes and to supervise the counting
of votes
Nina Kiviranta, the Company’s General Counsel will scrutinize the minutes and
supervise the counting of votes at the General Meeting. Should Nina Kiviranta
for a weighty reason not be able to attend these tasks, the Company’s Board of
Directors will appoint another person who it deems most suitable to scrutinize
the minutes and supervise the counting of votes.
-
Recording the legality of the meeting
-
Recording the attendance at the meeting and adoption of the list of votes
Shareholders who have voted in advance in accordance with the instructions set
out in this notice and who have the right to attend the General Meeting in
accordance with Chapter 5, Sections 6 and 6a of the Finnish Limited Liability
Companies Act will be recorded to have attended the General Meeting.
The list of votes will be adopted based on information provided to Innovatics
Ltd by Euroclear Finland Ltd.
- Presentation of the Financial Statements, the report of the Board of
Directors and the Auditor’s report for the financial year January 1 – December
31, 2020
As shareholders can only participate in the General Meeting by voting in
advance, the Company’s annual report 2020 to be published no later than on March
19, 2021, which will include the Company’s Financial Statements, the report of
the Board of Directors and the Auditor’s report, and which will be made
available on the Company’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/, will be deemed to have
been presented to the General Meeting.
-
Adoption of the Financial Statements
-
Resolution on the use of the profit shown on the balance sheet and the
payment of dividend
The Board of Directors proposes to the General Meeting that a dividend of EUR
0.20 per share (in the aggregate approximately EUR 165.8 million based on the
total number of outstanding shares of the Company at the time of the proposal)
be paid based on the balance sheet to be adopted for the financial year January
1 – December 31, 2020, and that the remaining part of the profit for the
financial year be retained and carried further in unrestricted equity.
The dividend shall be paid in two instalments as follows:
· The first dividend instalment of EUR 0.10 per share shall be paid to the
shareholders who are registered as shareholders in the Company’s register of
shareholders as maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the dividend record date,
April 27, 2021. The Board of Directors proposes that the first dividend
instalment be paid on May 4, 2021.
· The second dividend instalment of EUR 0.10 per share shall be paid in
November 2021 to the shareholders who are registered as shareholders in the
Company’s register of shareholders as maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on the
dividend record date. The Board of Directors shall resolve on the dividend
record date and the date of payment of the second dividend instalment in its
meeting agreed to be held on November 1, 2021. Pursuant to the current rules of
the Finnish book-entry system, the dividend record date would be November 3,
2021 and the date of payment November 10, 2021.
All the shares in the Company are entitled to a dividend with the exception of
own shares held by the Company on the relevant dividend record date.
- Resolution on the discharge of the members of the Board of Directors and the
President and CEOs from liability for the financial year January 1 – December
31, 2020
For the sake of clarity, the resolution on the discharge from liability under
this item 9 will cover each individual who, during the financial year January 1
– December 31, 2020, has served as a member of the Board of Directors or as the
President and CEO of the Company, including the current members of the Board of
Directors and the current President and CEO of the Company as well as the former
members of the Board of Directors and the former President and CEO of the
Company (formerly named Outotec Oyj) who served in their respective positions
until the completion of the combination of Metso Corporation’s Minerals business
and Outotec Oyj through the partial demerger of Metso Corporation.
- Adoption of the Company’s remuneration report for governing bodies
The Board of Directors proposes to the General Meeting that it adopts, through
an advisory resolution, the Company’s remuneration report for governing bodies.
As shareholders can only participate in the General Meeting by voting in
advance, the Company’s remuneration report for the Company’s governing bodies
for the financial year January 1 – December 31, 2020, which will be published by
a stock exchange release and will also be made available on the Company’s
website at www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/ no later
than on March 19, 2021, will be deemed to have been presented to the General
Meeting.
- Resolution on the remuneration of the members of the Board of Directors
The Shareholders’ Nomination Board proposes to the General Meeting that the
members of the Board of Directors and such Board members who will be elected to
the committees of the Board be paid the same fixed annual remuneration as in the
previous term as follows: EUR 150,000 for the Chair of the Board of Directors,
EUR 80,000 for the Vice Chair of the Board of Directors and EUR 65,000 for the
other members of the Board of Directors each, as well as an additional EUR
23,000 for the Chair of the Audit Committee, an additional EUR 10,000 for the
other members of the Audit Committee each, an additional EUR 12,000 for the
Chair of the Remuneration and HR Committee, and an additional EUR 5,000 for the
other members of the Remuneration and HR Committee each.
The Shareholders’ Nomination Board proposes to the General Meeting that, as a
condition for the annual remuneration, the Board members be obliged, directly
based on the General Meeting’s decision, to use 20 or 40 percent of their fixed
total annual remuneration for purchasing Metso Outotec shares from the market at
a price formed in public trading, and that the purchase be carried out within
two weeks from the publication of the interim report for January 1 – March 31,
2021 on April 23, 2021.
The Shareholders’ Nomination Board further proposes to the General Meeting that
the members of the Board of Directors be paid the same meeting fees for
attendance at each Board and committee meeting as in the previous term as
follows: a fee of EUR 900 be paid to the members residing in the Nordic
countries, a fee of EUR 1,800 be paid to the members residing in other European
countries and a fee of EUR 2,700 be paid to the members residing outside Europe.
In addition, members of the Board of Directors be compensated direct expenses
arising from Board work.
- Resolution on the number of members of the Board of Directors
The Shareholders’ Nomination Board proposes to the General Meeting that the
number of members of the Board of Directors shall be seven (7) (previously: ten
(10)).
- Election of members and Chair as well as Vice Chair of the Board of
Directors
The Shareholders’ Nomination Board proposes to the General Meeting that the
following current members of the Board of Directors be re-elected as members of
the Board of Directors for the term ending at the closing of the Annual General
Meeting 2022: Klaus Cawén, Christer Gardell, Antti Mäkinen, Ian W. Pearce, Kari
Stadigh, Emanuela Speranza and Arja Talma. The Shareholders’ Nomination Board
states that Matti Alahuhta, Hanne de Mora and Mikael Lilius were not available
for re-election.
The Shareholders’ Nomination Board proposes that the General Meeting resolves to
elect Kari Stadigh as the Chair of the Board of Directors and Klaus Cawén as the
Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the term ending at the closing of the
Annual General Meeting 2022.
All the candidates have given their consent to the election, and are considered
independent of Metso Outotec and its significant shareholders, except for Antti
Mäkinen, who would be dependent of a significant shareholder of Metso Outotec.
More information on the nominees is available on the Company’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/.
- Resolution on the remuneration of the Auditor
On the recommendation of the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors proposes to
the General Meeting that the Auditor’s fees be paid according to the Auditor’s
reasonable invoice approved by the Company.
- Election of Auditor
On the recommendation of the Audit Committee, the Board of Directors proposes to
the General Meeting that authorized public accountants Ernst & Young Oy be re
-elected as the Company’s Auditor for a term ending at the closing of the Annual
General Meeting 2022. Ernst & Young Oy has announced that it will appoint Mikko
Järventausta, APA, as the principally responsible auditor.
- Authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the repurchase of the
Company’s own shares
The Board of Directors proposes that the General Meeting authorizes the Board of
Directors to decide on the repurchase of an aggregate maximum of 82,000,000 of
the Company’s own shares. The proposed amount of shares corresponds to
approximately 9.9 percent of all the current shares of the Company. However, the
Company together with its subsidiaries cannot at any moment own more than 10
percent of all the shares of the Company.
Own shares may be repurchased on the basis of this authorization only by using
unrestricted equity. Own shares can be repurchased at a price formed in trading
on regulated market on the date of the repurchase or otherwise at a price formed
on the market. The Board of Directors is entitled to decide how shares are
repurchased. Own shares may be repurchased otherwise than in proportion to the
shares held by the shareholders (directed repurchase).
The authorization shall be in force until the closing of the Annual General
Meeting 2022.
- Authorizing the Board of Directors to decide on the issuance of shares and
the issuance of special rights entitling to shares
The Board of Directors proposes that the General Meeting authorizes the Board of
Directors to decide on the issuance of shares and the issuance of special rights
entitling to shares referred to in Chapter 10, Section 1 of the Finnish Limited
Liability Companies Act as follows: The number of shares to be issued on the
basis of this authorization shall not exceed an aggregate maximum of 82,000,000
shares, which corresponds to approximately 9.9 percent of all the current shares
of the Company.
The Board of Directors is entitled to decide on all terms of the issuance of
shares and of special rights entitling to shares and it is entitled to deviate
from the shareholders’ pre-emptive subscription rights (directed issue). This
authorization applies to both the issuance of new shares and the conveyance of
own shares held by the Company.
The authorization shall be in force until the closing of the Annual General
Meeting 2022.
- Closing of the General Meeting
B. Documents of the General Meeting
This notice, which contains all proposals for the resolutions on the matters on
the agenda of the General Meeting, is available on Metso Outotec’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/. Metso Outotec’s
remuneration report as well as the electronic annual report 2020, including the
Financial Statements, the report of the Board of Directors and the Auditor’s
report, will be available on the above-mentioned website no later than as from
March 19, 2021 onwards. Copies of these documents and this notice will be sent
to shareholders upon request. The minutes of the General Meeting will be
available on the above-mentioned website no later than as from May 7, 2021
onwards.
C. Instructions for the participants in the General Meeting
In order to limit the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the General Meeting will
be organized without the shareholders’ and their proxy representatives’ presence
at the General Meeting venue. Shareholders can participate in the meeting and
use their shareholder rights in connection with the General Meeting by voting in
advance (either personally or through a proxy representative), by submitting
counterproposals in advance and by asking questions in advance in the manner
described below. Proxy representatives must also vote in advance in the manner
described below. The General Meeting can be followed via a video stream on the
Company’s website at
https://www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/. Following the
video stream is not considered to be official participation in the General
Meeting and it is not possible to ask questions or vote via the video stream
during the General Meeting.
- Right to participate
Each shareholder who is registered on the record date of the General Meeting, on
April 13, 2021, in the Company’s shareholders’ register held by Euroclear
Finland Ltd, has the right to participate in the General Meeting. A shareholder,
whose shares are registered on the shareholder’s personal Finnish book-entry
account, is registered in the Company’s shareholders’ register.
Instructions for holders of nominee-registered shares are set out below under
Section C4 “Holders of nominee-registered shares”.
- Registration and voting in advance
Registration for the General Meeting and advance voting will begin on February
24, 2021 at 4.00 p.m. (EET). A shareholder who is registered in the Company’s
shareholders’ register and who wishes to participate in the General Meeting,
must register for the General Meeting and vote in advance no later than by April
16, 2021 at 4.00 p.m. (EEST), by which time the votes must have been received.
A shareholder whose shares are registered on the shareholder’s Finnish book
-entry account can register and vote in advance on certain matters on the agenda
of the General Meeting from February 24, 2021 at 4.00 p.m. (EET) until April 16,
2021 at 4.00 p.m. (EEST) by the following means:
a. through Metso Outotec’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/. The Finnish personal
identity code or business ID as well as strong identification with Finnish
banking codes or mobile ID is needed for electronic registration and advance
voting;
b. by sending the advance voting form available on the Company’s website or
corresponding information to Innovatics Ltd to the address Innovatics Oy,
AGM/Metso Outotec Corporation, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, 00520 Helsinki by letter
or by email at [email protected].
The advance voting form and instructions relating to the advance voting will be
available on the Company’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/ no later than on
February 24, 2021 at 4.00 p.m. (EET).
If a shareholder participates in the General Meeting by voting in advance in
accordance with the applicable instructions before the expiry of the
registration and advance voting period, this constitutes due registration for
the General Meeting, provided that all information required for registration and
advance voting is duly provided. No other notification of participation is
required for the General Meeting.
In connection with the registration, a shareholder or a proxy representative is
required to provide the requested personal information. The personal data given
to Metso Outotec or to Innovatics Ltd by shareholders and proxy representatives
is only used in connection with the General Meeting and with the processing of
related necessary registrations. For further information on how Metso Outotec
processes personal data, please review Metso Outotec’s privacy notice regarding
the General Meeting, which will be available at
https://www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/.
- Proxy representatives and powers of attorney
A shareholder may participate and make use of his or her rights as a shareholder
at the General Meeting by proxy.
A proxy representative must produce a dated proxy document or otherwise, in a
reliable manner, demonstrate his/her right to represent the shareholder at the
General Meeting. The representation right can also be demonstrated by using the
suomi.fi authorization service available in the electronic registration service.
If a shareholder participates in the General Meeting by means of several proxy
representatives representing the shareholder with shares in different book-entry
accounts, the shares, by which each proxy representative represents the
shareholder, shall be identified in connection with the registration for the
General Meeting.
Proxy and voting instruction templates will be available on the Company’s
website at www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/ no later
than as from February 24, 2021 onwards. Possible proxy documents shall be
delivered primarily as an attachment in connection with the electronic
registration and advance voting or alternatively by email to [email protected]
or as originals by regular mail to the address Innovatics Oy, AGM/Metso Outotec
Corporation, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, 00520 Helsinki before the end of the
registration and advance voting period, i.e. before April 16, 2021 at 4.00 p.m.
(EEST), by which time the proxy documents must have been received.
If a shareholder delivers a proxy to the Company in accordance with the
applicable instructions before the expiry of the registration and advance voting
period, this constitutes due registration for the General Meeting, provided that
all required information is included in the proxy documents. In addition, proxy
representatives must also vote in advance in the manner described in this
notice.
Further information will also be available on the Company’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/.
4.
Holders of nominee-registered shares
A holder of nominee-registered shares has the right to participate in the
General Meeting by virtue of such shares, based on which the shareholder on the
record date of the General Meeting, on April 13, 2021, would be entitled to be
registered in the Company’s shareholders’ register held by Euroclear Finland
Ltd. The right to participate in the General Meeting requires, in addition, that
the shareholder on the basis of such shares has been registered into the
temporary shareholders’ register held by Euroclear Finland Ltd at the latest by
April 20, 2021 at 10.00 a.m. (EEST). With regard to nominee-registered shares,
this constitutes due registration for the General Meeting.
A holder of nominee-registered shares is advised to request necessary
instructions regarding the registration in the Company’s temporary shareholders’
register, the issuing of proxy documents and registration for the General
Meeting from his/her custodian bank without delay. The account management
organization of the custodian bank must register a holder of nominee-registered
shares, who wishes to participate in the General Meeting, in the Company’s
temporary shareholders’ register within the registration period applicable to
nominee-registered shares. The account management organization of the custodian
bank shall also take care of the voting in advance on behalf of the holders of
nominee-registered shares within the registration period applicable to nominee
-registered shares, i.e. by April 20, 2021 at 10.00 a.m. (EEST) at the latest.
Further information will also be available on the Company’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/.
5.
Counterproposals, right to ask questions and other information
Shareholders representing at least one hundredth (1/100) of all the shares in
the Company have the right to pose counterproposals concerning the matters on
the agenda of the General Meeting to be placed for a vote. Such counterproposals
shall be delivered to the Company by email to [email protected] at the latest by
February 23, 2021 at 10.00 a.m. (EET), by which time the counterproposals must
have been received by the Company.
In connection with making a counterproposal, shareholders are required to
provide adequate evidence of their shareholding. A counterproposal is eligible
for voting at the General Meeting if the shareholders who have made the
counterproposal have the right to attend the meeting and on the record date of
the General Meeting represent at least one hundredth (1/100) of all shares in
the Company. If a counterproposal is not eligible for voting at the General
Meeting, the votes given in favor of such a counterproposal will not be taken
into account. The Company will publish possible counterproposals eligible for
voting on the Company’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/ on February 24, 2021 at
the latest.
A shareholder has the right to ask questions with respect to the matters to be
considered at the General Meeting pursuant to Chapter 5, Section 25 of the
Finnish Limited Liability Companies Act. Such questions must be sent in
connection with the electronic registration and advance voting or by email to
[email protected], and in each case at the latest by April 9, 2021 at 4.00 p.m.
(EEST), by which time the questions must have been received.
Such questions by shareholders, responses to such questions by the Company’s
management as well as any other counterproposals than those eligible for voting
will be available on the Company’s website at
www.mogroup.com/corporate/investors/governance/agm/2021/ on April 14, 2021 at
the latest. In connection with asking questions, shareholders are required to
provide adequate evidence of their shareholding.
On the date of this notice, February 16, 2021, the total number of shares in
Metso Outotec is 828,972,440, which equals 828,972,440 votes.
Changes in share ownership after the record date of the General Meeting do not
affect the right to participate in the General Meeting or a shareholder’s number
of votes at the General Meeting.
In Helsinki, on February 16, 2021
Metso Outotec Corporation
Board of Directors
Further information, please contact:
Nina Kiviranta, General Counsel, Metso Outotec Corporation, tel. +358 20 529
2017
Juha Rouhiainen, Vice President, Investor Relations, Metso Outotec Corporation,
tel. +358 20 484 3253
Distribution:
Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
Main media
www.mogroup.com
Metso Outotec is a frontrunner in sustainable technologies, end-to-end solutions
and services for the aggregates, minerals processing, metals refining and
recycling industries globally. By improving our customers’ energy and water
efficiency, increasing their productivity, and reducing environmental risks with
our product and process expertise, we are the partner for positive change.
Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Metso Outotec employs over 15,000 people in
more than 50 countries and its sales for 2020 were about EUR 3,9 billion. The
company is listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki.
mogroup.com (https://www.mogroup.com/), twitter.com/metsooutotec