Purpose
In the fourteenth resolution, shareholders are invited to approve the compensation policy for the executive officer approved by the Board of Directors.
This policy will apply from Fiscal 2024 until the approval of a new compensation policy by the Shareholders Meeting.
In the context of the renewal of the term of office of Sophie Bellon, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer, an in-depth benchmark of practices among our reference panel was carried out with the assistance of a specialized independent consulting firm, in order to assess the positioning of the remuneration of the Group's executive officer.
The main changes proposed in the compensation policy for the Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer for Fiscal 2024 compared to the policy implemented for Fiscal 2023, are as follows:
The compensation policy submitted for shareholder approval is proposed by the Board of Directors based on the recommendation of the Compensation Committee and is presented in the Board of Directors’ Corporate Governance Report provided in Section 7.4.1 of this Fiscal 2023 Universal Registration Document.
(APPROVAL OF THE COMPENSATION POLICY APPLICABLE TO THE EXECUTIVE OFFICER)
Having considered the Board of Directors’ Report, the Shareholders Meeting, acting under the rules of quorum and majority applicable to Ordinary Shareholders Meetings and in accordance with article L.22-10-8 II of the French Commercial Code, approves the compensation policy applicable to the executive officer, as set by the Company’s Board of Directors based on the recommendation of the Compensation Committee and as described in the Corporate Governance Report drawn up in compliance with article L.225-37 of the French Commercial Code and detailed in Section 7.4.1 of this Fiscal 2023 Universal Registration Document.
Purpose
As of August 31, 2023, the Company held 1,078,126 treasury shares, corresponding to 0.73% of its share capital, mainly allocated to cover commitments to beneficiaries under restricted share plans and employee share purchase plans as well as the liquidity contract.
In the fifteenth resolution, shareholders are invited to renew the 18-month authorization granted to the Board of Directors to enable the Company to purchase its own shares at any time other than when a public tender offer for the Company’s shares is in progress.
In accordance with French law and market practice, it is proposed that they be limited to 10% of the share capital as of the date of the Annual Shareholders Meeting of December 15, 2023.
The maximum price of the shares that may be purchased under this share buyback program would be 120 euros per share and the total amount invested in the program may not exceed 1.8 billion euros. The maximum purchase price will be adjusted downwards after the Pluxee spin-off on the basis of the market price.
The shares purchased would be used, inter alia, to (i) cover restricted share plans; (ii) reduce the Company’s share capital by canceling shares; and (iii) provide liquidity in Sodexo shares under the liquidity contract entered into between Sodexo and Exane BNP Paribas. This contract was suspended as of August 25, 2023, pending the renewal of the resolution during the Shareholders Meeting of December 15, 2023, the stock market price having reached the maximum purchase price of the shares.
For information on the implementation of the previous share buyback authorization, see Section 8.3.5 of this Fiscal 2023 Universal Registration Document.