Australian's shareholder disclosure rules require that shareholders aggregate their shareholding with their associates' shareholdings for the purpose of determining their ‘voting power’ in Australian listed companies. That voting power, and the identity of their associates, must be disclosed to the market if their voting power exceeds five per cent or changes by more than one per cent if above that threshold.
Where a major shareholder seeks the removal of the current directors via general meeting, it is not uncommon for listed companies to apply to the Takeovers Panel for a declaration of unacceptable circumstances, alleging that the major shareholder is acting in concert with other shareholders without informing the market. To date, the Panel has been minded to intervene and make a declaration if sufficient evidence is presented to it in the application to show an undisclosed association.
