Interest of the coordination and service agreement for Sodexo and its stakeholders
Considering:
- the presence in the Group’s capital of a very long-term family shareholding within Bellon SA, the Group’s animating holding company, guarantees its independence and respect for its values and a long-term strategy which enables the Group to seize development opportunities, accelerate its transformation and concentrate on its objective of profitable and sustainable growth, without being influenced by short-term pressures;
- The agreement helps to ensure that the values, culture and ambitions defined by Pierre Bellon are shared across the Group. From the outset, Pierre Bellon wanted Sodexo to be the community of its customers, consumers, employees and shareholders. This concept, which was ahead of its time, is still one of the fundamental principles of Sodexo’s development and guarantees a business model that creates value for all stakeholders. It is through these three key managers that Bellon SA ensures that these values remain at the heart of its strategy.
- The Board of Directors is committed to ensuring that the rights of all shareholders are effectively protected, through various governance mechanisms, including:
- a high rate of independence within the Board (well above the recommendation of the AFEP-MEDEF Code for a controlled company);
- Committees chaired by, and mostly comprising, independent directors;
- the appointment of a Lead Independent Director;
- Internal Rules and a policy for managing conflicts of interest.
- the quality of the profiles of the managers, with in-depth knowledge of the Group and significant experience in similar functions; and
- the absence of any additional cost ensuring that the agreement is financially neutral for Sodexo,
Consequently, the Board of Directors believe this agreement to be in the interest of all Sodexo shareholders and stakeholders.
The Statutory Auditors’ Special Report on related-party agreements is provided in section 5.4.2 of this Universal Registration Document.
