GovernanceMetrics International
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Accor S.A.'s Governance Initiatives Lead to GMI Re-Rating
New York, January 11th, 2006 - GovernanceMetricsInternational(GMI), the corporate governance research and ratings agency, today announced that it had re-rated Accor S.A. (Euronext Paris: AC) following shareholders’ approval of a change in the company’s corporate governance structure. In October 2005, a Governance Committee was created, which was followed by the creation of a Board of Directors as adopted by shareholders in January 2006 to replace the Supervisory and Management Board which were the constituting the company’s management structure at the time. The company’s overall GMI rating increased from 5.5 to 6.0, and its overall home market rating relative to other French companies increased from 7.0 to 9.0. An analysis of Accor’s rating changes before and after the adoption of a Board of Directors follows:
The company’s adoption of a board of directors resulted in significant
improvements to Accor’s governance profile. Key changes are:
- Gerard Pelisson and Paul Dubrule, who were respectively, President and Vice President of the company and therefore non-independent directors of the then Supervisory Board, resigned from the Board and were appointed as co-founding Chairmen with the right to attend meetings in an observer capacity.
- The newly created Board of Directors welcomed five directors, four of whom are independent.
- Serge Weinberg was appointed as the Board’s Chairman and Gilles Pelisson became the company’s CEO.
About GMI
GMI’s rating system incorporates hundreds of data points across six broad categories of analysis: board accountability, financial disclosure and internal controls, executive compensation, shareholder rights, ownership base and takeover provisions, plus corporate behavior and environmental, health and safety issues. Subscribers to GMI are able to view a company’s overall rating, section ratings, and several pages of written analysis. GMI clients include pension funds, investment managers, mutual funds, regulatory agencies, banks, insurance companies, professional service firms and corporate issuers throughout North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.