Changed set-up for ICA Gruppen’s Annual General Meeting, including changed location and decision on voting by mail
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, ICA Gruppen has decided to relocate the Annual General Meeting to be held at 14:00 on 21 April 2020 to ICA Gruppen’s head offices, Kolonnvägen 20, Solna, Sweden. Voting by mail is being offered with support of the new exception law for general meetings. In addition, ICA Gruppen has decided to take further precautionary measures in connection with the Annual General Meeting.
The measures aim to allow the Annual General Meeting to be held with the least possible risks for shareholders, employees and other interested parties. Shareholders are urged to adhere to the authorities’ recommendations and take responsibility to prevent contagion, and to take advantage of the opportunity to vote by mail or via proxy. Naturally, shareholders in risk categories should stay home. The Annual General Meeting (provided that the Annual General Meeting consents) will be aired live via webcast, and it will thus presumably be possible to watch the Annual General Meeting remotely.
If the number of shareholders who physically attend the Annual General Meeting exceeds what is prescribed or recommended by the relevant authorities, despite the proposed measures, or if the Board of Directors otherwise determines that the Annual General Meeting cannot be held in a safe manner, ICA Gruppen will postpone the Annual General Meeting and instead hold it later during the second quarter. This may take place on short notice. In such case a new Annual General Meeting notice will be issued in customary fashion.
Measures taken
- The Annual General Meeting is being moved to ICA Gruppen’s head offices, Kolonnvägen 20, Solna.
- Voting by mail is being offered with support of the new exception law for general meetings. See more about this below.
- The time for registration to open has been changed to 13:30.
- The Annual General Meeting chairman will propose that the Annual General Meeting be aired live via webcast.
- The CEO’s report on the operations of the company (agenda point 7) will be very abbreviated, and instead a pre-recorded report will be posted on the company’s website (icagruppen.se) on the same day the Annual General Meeting is held.
- With respect to the report on the work and function of the Board and its committees (agenda point 8), reference will be made to what is detailed in the Corporate Governance Report for 2019.
- The number of board members and members of the ICA Gruppen Management Team in attendance will be sharply limited, and their participation may be done via video or phone link.
- No food or beverages will be offered and no gifts will be handed out.
Voting by mail
To minimise the number of participants at the Annual General Meeting, the Board of Directors has decided to implement voting by mail with support of the so-called exception law for general meetings. Shareholders are urged to the greatest extent possible to use the opportunity to vote by mail in order for the Annual General Meeting to be able to be held. Vote-by-mail ballots and further information on voting by mail will be available at icagruppen.se and will be sent by mail to shareholders upon request, provided they provide their postal address. Note that the vote-by-mail ballots must be received by the company not later than 17 April 2020.
We regret that the current situation entails changed circumstances for you as a shareholder. If you have notified the company of your intention to attend the Annual General Meeting and now intend to refrain from attending physically, we kindly request that you notify us on the telephone number posted in the Annual General Meeting notice, +46 (0)8 402 90 40.
Information on the Annual General Meeting may be updated as the situation develops. Continuously updated information on the Annual General Meeting will be available at icagruppen.se.
[1] The Act on temporary exceptions to facilitate the implementation of general meetings for companies and associations (Lagen om tillfälliga undantag för att underlätta genomförandet av bolags- och föreningsstämmor).
For more information
ICA Gruppen press service, Telephone number:
+46 (0)10 422 52 52