Shareholder support for the reappointment of SoftBank Group’s Chief Executive Masayoshi Son has experienced a significant decline, with approval dropping to 79.22% from 95.93% last year. This decrease comes as a result of a recommendation from proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) advising against his reappointment. The information was disclosed in a stock market filing on Tuesday.
In early June, SoftBank issued a press statement clarifying that ISS’s opposition stemmed from the tech investment group’s average return on equity falling below 5% over the past five years. ISS’s recommendation was influenced by this strong financial performance.
Other SoftBank directors also received similar levels of support. Shareholder support for external director Kenneth Siegel saw a modest increase to 68.46%, up from 66.9% in the previous year. Siegel, the managing partner of law firm Morrison Foerster in Tokyo, has been instrumental in facilitating some of SoftBank’s most notable transactions.
This development underscores the increasing scrutiny surrounding SoftBank’s leadership and financial strategies, which reflects the wider concerns of investors regarding the company’s performance and future trajectory.