Notice of the Annual General Meeting 2025
eQ Plc Stock Exchange Release
4 February 2025, at 8:15 am
Notice of the Annual General Meeting 2025
Notice is given to the shareholders of eQ Plc to
the Annual General Meeting (the “AGM”) to be held on 25 March 2025
at 5:00 p.m. at Sanoma House’s Eliel meeting room, Töölönlahdenkatu
2, 00100 Helsinki, Finland. The reception of persons who have
registered for the meeting will commence at 4:30 p.m. at the
meeting venue.
The AGM will be held as a hybrid meeting in
accordance with chapter 5, section 16, subsection 2 of the Finnish
Limited Liability Companies Act. As an alternative to participating
in the Annual General Meeting at the meeting venue, shareholders
can fully exercise their rights during the meeting also via remote
connection. Shareholders can exercise their right to vote also by
voting in advance. Further attendance instructions, instructions
for voting in advance and remote participation are presented in
part C of this notice to the AGM.
Shareholders can ask questions referred to in
chapter 5, section 25 of the Finnish Companies Act about the
matters to be discussed at the meeting, also in writing before the
meeting. Instructions for submitting written questions are
presented in this notice under section C.
A. Matters on the agenda of the AGM
At the Annual General Meeting, the following
matters will be considered:
1. Opening of the meeting
2. Calling the meeting to order
3. Election of persons to scrutinise the
minutes and persons to supervise the counting of votes
4. Recording the legality of the
meeting
5. Recording the attendance at the meeting
and adoption of the list of votes
6. Presentation of the annual accounts,
report of the Board of Directors and auditors' report for the year
2024
- Presentation of the review by the
CEO
The annual accounts, report of the Board of
Directors and the auditors’ report published by the Company will be
available no later than 4 March 2025 on the Company’s website
www.eq.fi.
7. Adoption of the annual accounts
8. Resolution on the use of the profit shown
on the balance sheet and the payment of dividend
The distributable means of the parent company
on 31 December 2024 totalled EUR 57,409,143.02. The
sum consisted of retained earnings of EUR 31,984,573.28
and the means in the reserve of invested unrestricted equity of
EUR 25,424,569.74.
The Board of Directors proposes to the Annual
General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 0.66 per share be paid out.
The proposal corresponds to a dividend totalling EUR 27,328,750.68
calculated with the number of shares at the close of the financial
year. The dividend will be paid out in two separate
installments.
The first installment, EUR 0.33 per share
shall be paid to those shareholders who are registered as
shareholders in eQ Plc's shareholder register maintained by
Euroclear Finland Ltd on the record date of the dividend payment on
27 March 2025. The Board proposes 3 April 2025 as the payment date
of the first installment of the dividend.
The second installment, EUR 0.33 per share
shall be paid in October 2025. The second installment shall be paid
to those shareholders who are registered as shareholders in eQ
Plc's shareholder register maintained by Euroclear Finland Ltd on
the record date of the divided payment. The Board shall decide the
record date and the payment date of the second installment of the
divided in its meeting in September 2025. It is contemplated that
the record date of the second installment will be 7 October 2025
and that the payment date will be 14 October 2025.
After the end of the financial period, no
essential changes have taken place in the financial position of the
company. The Board of Directors feel that the proposed distribution
of dividend does not endanger the liquidity of the company.
9. Resolution on the discharge of the members
of the Board of Directors and the CEOs from liability for the
financial year 1 January – 31 December 2024
10. Handling of the Remuneration Report for
Governing Bodies
The Remuneration Report for Governing
Bodies shall be available on the company’s website
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset
no later than 4 March 2025.
11. Handling of the Remuneration Policy for
Governing Bodies
The Remuneration Policy for the company’s
governing bodies was previously presented to the Annual General
Meeting in 2021. The Remuneration Policy must be presented to the
general meeting at least every four years or whenever substantial
changes have been made to it.
The Board of Directors presents the
Remuneration Policy for Governing Bodies to the Annual
General Meeting for adoption by an advisory decision. The
Remuneration Policy for Governing Bodies shall be published
together with the Annual Report by a stock exchange release and it
will be available on the company’s website
https://www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset
no later than 4 March 2025.
12. Resolution on the remuneration of the
members of the Board of Directors
Shareholders of eQ Plc, who control over 60
per cent of the outstanding shares and votes, propose that the
Chair of the Board of Directors receives 5,000 euros per month,
Vice Chair of the Board of Directors receives 4,000 euros per month
and the members of the Board of Directors receive 3,000 euros per
month. In addition, a compensation of 750 euros per meeting is
proposed to be paid for all the Board members for each attended
Board meeting and travel and accommodation expenses are reimbursed
according to the guidelines of eQ Plc.
13. Resolution on the number of
members of the Board of Directors
Shareholders of eQ Plc, who control over 60
per cent of the outstanding shares and votes, have made a proposal
that the number of the Board members remain unchanged, i.e. that
six persons be on the Board of Directors, or five persons, if a
person proposed by the Shareholders is prevented from being a Board
member of the company.
14. Election of the members of the Board of
Directors
Shareholders, who control over 60 per cent of
the outstanding shares and votes, have made a proposal that the
current Board members Päivi Arminen, Nicolas Berner, Georg
Ehrnrooth, Janne Larma and Tomas von Rettig are re-elected to the
Board of Directors and Caroline Bertlin will be elected as a
new member to the Board. If one of the persons proposed by the
Shareholders is prevented from being a Board member of the company,
such persons who are not prevented from being Board
members. The term of office of the Board members ends
at the close of the next Annual General Meeting.
Caroline Bertlin (born 1978) is an
experienced business leader with vast experience in the Nordics and
internationally. Bertlin is based and has spent most of her career
in Sweden. Currently she is engaged in strategy and funding of
energy infrastructure for Nordion Energi. Prior to that she was the
CEO of Nordisk Renting and Managing Director in NatWest Structured
Finance (2016-2023). Previously she worked as Head of
Restructuring, Turnaround CEO and Project Lead for Strategic
projects in the NatWest Group (2009-2015). Earlier experience
includes portfolio management and analyst positions within banking
and alternative investments. In addition, she is a member of the
Board of Nordisk Renting AB (2016-). Caroline Bertlin holds a
Master of Science (Economics) degree from Hanken School of
Economics.
All nominees have given their consent to the
proposal. In addition, the nominees have indicated that on
selection, they will select Georg Ehrnrooth as Chair of the Board
of Directors.
Member candidates' resumes and independence
assessments are available on the company's website:
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset.
15. Resolution on the remuneration of the
auditor
The Board of Directors proposes that the
auditor to be elected be paid remuneration according to the
auditor's invoice approved by eQ Plc.
16. Election of auditor
The Board of Directors proposes, that for a
term ending at the end of the Annual General Meeting 2026,
Authorized Public Accountants KPMG Oy Ab be elected auditor of the
Company. The auditor has stated that the auditor with main
responsibility will be Tuomas Ilveskoski, APA, Authorized
Sustainability Auditor.
17. Resolution on the remuneration of the
sustainability auditor
The Board of Directors proposes that the
sustainability auditor to be elected be paid remuneration
according to the auditor's invoice approved by eQ Plc.
18. Election of sustainability
auditor
For the financial year 2025, the company must
prepare its first sustainability report in accordance with the EU
Sustainability Reporting Directive, CSRD, and relevant national
legislation.
The Board of Directors proposes, that for a
term ending at the end of the Annual General Meeting 2026,
Authorized Public Accountants KPMG Oy Ab be elected sustainability
auditor of the Company. KPMG has stated that the sustainability
auditor with main responsibility will be Tuomas Ilveskoski, APA,
Authorized Sustainability Auditor.
19. Establishment of a Shareholders’
Nomination Board
The Board of Directors proposes that the
Annual General Meeting establishes a Shareholders’ Nomination Board
whose task is to prepare proposals concerning the number of members
of the Board of Directors and the Board’s composition and
remuneration to the General Meeting.
According to the proposal, the Shareholders’
Nomination Board comprises of four members and four largest
shareholders of the Company may each appoint a member.
The right to appoint a member belongs to the
four shareholders who, as of the last day of June preceding the
next Annual General Meeting, have the largest share of the total
voting rights of the Company’s shares, taking into account those
shareholders whose holdings should be aggregated subject to the
obligation to notify major holdings.
The Board of Directors proposes that the
Annual General Meeting adopts the Charter for the Shareholders’
Nomination Board. The Board’s proposal for the Company’s Charter
for the Shareholders’ Nomination Board is available on the
Company's website:
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset.
20. Authorising the Board of Directors to
decide on the issuance of shares as well as the issuance of special
rights entitling to shares
The Board of Directors proposes that the AGM
authorises the Board of Directors to decide on a share issue or
share issues and/or the issuance of special rights entitling to
shares referred to in Chapter 10 Section 1 of the Companies Act,
comprising a maximum total of 3,500,000 new shares. The amount of
the proposed authorisation corresponds to approximately 8.45 per
cent of all shares in the Company at the time of this Notice of the
AGM.
The authorisation is proposed to be used in
order to finance or carry out potential acquisitions or other
business transactions, to strengthen the balance sheet and the
financial position of the Company, to fulfill Company’s incentive
schemes or to any other purposes decided by the Board. Fifty per
cent of the shares or special rights entitling to shares issued on
the basis of the authorisation may be used to implement incentive
schemes or otherwise for remuneration. It is proposed that based on
the authorization, the Board decides on all other matters related
to the issuance of shares and special rights entitling to shares
referred to in Chapter 10 Section 1 of the Companies Act, including
the recipients of the shares or the special rights entitling to
shares and the amount of the consideration to be paid. Therefore,
based on the authorisation, shares or special rights entitling to
shares may also be issued directed i.e. in deviation of the
shareholders pre-emptive rights as described in the Companies Act.
A share issue may also be executed without payment in accordance
with the preconditions set out in the Companies Act.
The authorisation will cancel all previous
authorisations to decide on the issuance of shares as well as the
issuance of special rights entitling to shares and is effective
until the next Annual General Meeting, however no more than 18
months.
21. Closing of the meeting
B. Documents of the AGM
This notice to the Annual General Meeting, that
contains all decision proposals on the agenda of the AGM, is
available to shareholders on eQ Plc's website at
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset. eQ Plc's
Annual Report, containing the Company's annual accounts, the report
of the Board of Directors and the auditors' report together with
the Remuneration Report for Governing Bodies and the Remuneration
Policy for Governing Bodies is available on the said website no
later than 4 March 2025. The proposals for resolutions and other
previously mentioned documents will also be available at the
AGM.
The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting will
be available on the company’s website no later than 8 April
2025.
C. Instructions to the participants of the
AGM
1. Shareholders registered in the
shareholders’ register (Finnish book-entry account)
Each shareholder, who is registered on the
record date of the Annual General Meeting 13 March 2025 in the
Company’s register held by Euroclear Finland Oy, has the right to
participate in the Annual General Meeting. A shareholder, whose
shares are registered on their personal Finnish book-entry account
is automatically registered in the shareholders’ register of the
Company. Changes in share ownership after the record date of the
AGM do not affect the right to participate in the meeting or the
shareholder's number of votes.
Registration for the AGM will begin on 25
February 2025 at 10 am. A shareholder, who is registered in the
shareholders’ register of the Company and who wants to participate
in the Annual General Meeting, must register for the AGM no later
than 18 March 2025 by 4:00 pm by which time the registrations must
be received. Shareholders may register to the meeting:
a) Via the website
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset
Online registration require that the
shareholders or their statutory representatives or proxy
representatives use strong electronic authentication either by
Finnish, Swedish or Danish bank ID or mobile certificate.
b) By email agm@innovatics.fi or by mail
A shareholder who registers by mail or email
shall send registration form available on the Company’s website at
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset or
corresponding information to Innovatics Oy by mail to Innovatics
Oy, Annual General Meeting / eQ Oyj, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A,
FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland or by email at agm@innovatics.fi.
When registering, shareholders shall provide requested information,
such as their name, date of birth or Business ID, address,
telephone number, email address and the name of any assistant or
proxy representative and the date of birth and email address and/or
telephone number of any proxy representative. In addition, the
shareholder shall inform whether the shareholder or its
representative will participate in the AGM at the meeting venue or
via a remote connection. The personal data given by the shareholder
to the Company or Innovatics Oy will be used only in connection
with the Annual General Meeting and with the processing of related
necessary registrations.
The shareholder and their representative or
proxy must be able to prove their identity and/or right of
representation at the meeting place, if necessary.
Additional information on the registration is
available during the registration period by telephone from
Innovatics Oy at +358 10 2818 909 on business days during 9:00 am
until 12:00 noon and from 1:00 pm until 4:00 pm.
2. Holders of nominee-registered
shares
A holder of nominee-registered shares has the
right to participate in the Annual General Meeting by virtue of
such shares, based on which they on the record date of the Annual
General Meeting 13 March 2025 would be entitled to be registered in
the shareholders’ register of the Company held by Euroclear Finland
Oy. Participation in the AGM also requires that the shareholder has
been registered on the basis of such shares in the temporary
shareholders’ register held by Euroclear Finland Oy at the latest
by 20 March 2025 by 10:00 am. As regards nominee-registered shares
this constitutes due registration for the AGM. Changes in the
ownership of shares after the record date of the Annual General
Meeting do not affect the right to participate in the AGM nor the
number of votes of the shareholder.
A holder of nominee-registered shares is advised
to request without delay the necessary instructions regarding the
temporary registration in the shareholders’ register, the remote
participation or participation at the meeting venue, advance
voting, the issuing of proxy documents and voting instructions and
registration for the Annual General Meeting from their custodian.
The account manager of the custodian shall temporarily register a
holder of nominee-registered shares, who wants to participate in
the Annual General Meeting, in the shareholders’ register of the
Company at the latest by the time stated above and, if necessary,
take care of advance voting on behalf of a holder of
nominee-registered shares, at the latest prior to the end of the
registration period for the holders of nominee-registered shares.
A holder of nominee-registered shares who has
registered for the General Meeting may also participate in the
meeting in real time using telecommunication connection and
technical means. In addition to the temporary registration in the
company’s shareholders’ register, the real-time participation in
the meeting requires the submission of the shareholder’s email
address and telephone number and, if necessary, a proxy document
and other documents necessary to prove the right of representation
to by regular mail to Innovatics Oy, Yhtiökokous/eQ Oyj,
Ratamestarinkatu 13 A, FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland or by email to
agm@innovatics.fi before the end of the registration period for the
holders of nominee registered shares, so that the shareholders can
be sent a participation link and password to participate in the
meeting. If a holder of nominee-registered shares has authorised
their custodian to cast advance votes on their behalf, such advance
votes will be taken into account as advance votes of the
nominee-registered shareholder at the AGM, unless the holder of
nominee-registered shares votes otherwise at the AGM.
3. Proxy representatives and powers of
attorney
A shareholder may participate in the Annual
General Meeting and exercise its rights at the meeting by way of
proxy representation. A shareholder's proxy representative may also
register for the AGM and vote in advance as described in this
notice. The online registration and advance voting of a statutory
or a proxy representative require that the statutory
representatives or the proxy representatives identify themselves to
the electronic registration and voting service at the Company’s
website www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset in
person by using strong electronic authentication either by Finnish,
Swedish or Danish bank ID or mobile certificate, after which they
may continue with the registration and voting on behalf of the
shareholder they represent.
Proxy representative of the shareholder shall in
connection with the registration present a dated proxy document or
otherwise in a reliable manner demonstrate their right to represent
the shareholder. An example of the proxy document and voting
instructions is available at the Company’s website
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset on 7
February 2025, 9:00 am, the latest. Should a shareholder
participate in the Annual General Meeting by means of several proxy
representatives representing the shareholder with shares in
different book-entry accounts, the shares by which each proxy
representative represents the shareholder shall be identified in
connection with the registration.
The possible proxy documents should be delivered
primarily as an attachment in connection with electronic
registration or alternatively to agm@innovatics.fi before the
closing of the registration. In addition to the delivery of
proxies, the shareholder or their proxy must take care of
registering for the AGM as described above in this notice.
Shareholders that are legal entities may also,
as an alternative to traditional proxy authorisation documents, use
the electronic Suomi.fi authorisation service for authorising their
proxy representatives. The representative is mandated in the
Suomi.fi service at www.suomi.fi/e-authorizations (using the
authorisation topic “Representation at the General Meeting”). When
registering for the AGM in the virtual general meeting service
provided by Inderes Plc, authorised representatives shall identify
themselves with strong electronic authentication, after which the
electronic mandate is automatically verified. The strong electronic
authentication takes place with personal online banking credentials
or a mobile certificate. For more information, see
www.suomi.fi/e-authorisations.
4. Remote participation in the
meeting
A shareholder who has the right to participate
in the Annual General Meeting can participate in the meeting not
only by participating in the AGM at the meeting venue but also,
shareholders may use their rights in full and in real-time during
the meeting via remote connection.
Due to the limited space at the meeting venue,
the shareholder's or proxy's notification of participation in the
AGM via remote connection is binding, and the shareholder or proxy
does not have the right to change the method of participation or
participate in the meeting at the meeting place after the
registration period has expired. However, the shareholder's
representative's notification of participation via remote
connection does not limit the right of shareholder's other
representatives to participate in the meeting at the meeting
place.
A shareholder or proxy who has registered to
participate in the AGM at the meeting venue can change their
participation to remote participation. There is no need to inform
the company about this separately. Remote participation takes place
via the remote participation link sent to the phone number and/or
email address provided when registering for the AGM.
The remote connection to the AGM is provided
through Inderes Plc's virtual general meeting service on the
Videosync platform, which includes a video and audio connection to
the Annual General Meeting. Participating via the remote connection
does not require paid software or downloads. In addition to an
internet connection, participation requires a computer, smartphone
or tablet with speakers or headphones for sound reproduction and a
microphone for asking oral questions or speaking turns. To
participate, it is recommended to use the latest versions of the
most common browser programs in use.
The participation link and password for remote
participation will be sent by email and/or text message to the
email address and/or mobile phone number provided during
registration to all those registered for the Annual General Meeting
no later than the day before the meeting. Thus, advance voters and
shareholders who have registered to attend the General Meeting at
the venue may also participate in the General Meeting remotely via
telecommunication if they so wish. It is recommended to log
into the meeting system well in advance of the meeting's start
time.
More detailed information about the general
meeting service can be found on the company's website
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset. The link
to test the compatibility of a computer, smartphone or tablet and
the network connection can be found at
https://b2b.inderes.com/fi/knowledge-base/yhteensopivuuden-testaaminen.
It is recommended that you familiarise yourself with the more
detailed participation instructions before the start of the
AGM.
5. Voting in advance
Shareholders whose shares are registered on
their Finnish book-entry account may vote in advance on certain
items on the agenda of the AGM during the period between 25
February 2025 10:00 a.m. – 18 March 2025 at 4:00 p.m. in the
following ways:
a) Via the website
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset
Advance voting requires that the shareholders or
their statutory representatives or proxy representatives use strong
electronic authentication either by Finnish, Swedish or Danish bank
ID or mobile certificate.
b) By email agm@innovatics.fi or by mail
A shareholder or its statutory representative
who votes in advance by mail or email shall send the voting form
available on the Company’s website at
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset or
corresponding information to Innovatics Oy by mail to Innovatics
Oy, Annual General Meeting / eQ Oyj, Ratamestarinkatu 13 A,
FI-00520 Helsinki, Finland or by email at agm@innovatics.fi.
Advance votes must be received by the time the advance voting
period ends. Submitting advance votes by mail or email to
Innovatics Oy before the due date of the registration period and
advance voting constitutes due registration for the AGM provided
that the information required above for registration is provided in
connection with the advance voting form.
A shareholder who has voted in advance and who
wants to use their right to present questions under the Companies
Act, demand a vote or vote on a possible counter-proposal, must
attend the general meeting in person or have their proxy
representative participate in the AGM using the remote connection.
The votes cast by those who have voted in advance will be taken
into account in the decision-making of the General Meeting,
regardless of whether they participate in the General Meeting
remotely or at the meeting venue or not. If they participate
remotely or at the meeting location, they have the opportunity to
change their advance votes during the meeting, if they wish, when a
vote takes place.
For holders of nominee-registered shares,
advance voting is carried out via the account manager of the
custodian. The account manager may vote in advance on behalf of the
holders of nominee-registered shares that they represent in
accordance with the voting instructions provided by the holders of
nominee registered shares during the registration period for the
holders of nominee-registered shares.
A proposal subject to advance voting is deemed
to have been presented without amendments at the AGM. Conditions
related to the electronic advance voting and other related
instructions are available on the Company's website at
www.eq.fi/en/about-eq-group/hallinnointi/yhtiokokoukset.
6. Other instructions/information
The meeting shall be held in Finnish.
Shareholders who are present at the meeting
shall have a right to present questions referred to in Chapter 5,
Section 25 of the Companies Act with respect to the matters to be
considered at the Annual General Meeting.
A shareholder may present questions referred to
in Chapter 5, Section 25 of the Companies Act with respect to the
matters to be considered at the Annual General Meeting by 11 March
2025 at 4:00 pm at the online registration service or by email to
eQ.Yhtiokokous@eq.fi. The company’s management generally answers
such questions submitted in writing in advance at the AGM or no
later than two weeks after the general meeting on the company's
website. When presenting a question to the Annual General Meeting,
the shareholder must provide sufficient information about their
shareholding upon request.
On the date of this notice, 4 February 2025, the
total number of eQ Plc's shares and votes is 41,407,198. The
Company does not hold its own shares.
Helsinki, 4 February 2025
eQ Plc
Board of Directors
Additional information: Juha Surve, Group General Counsel, tel.
+358 9 6817 8733
Distribution: Nasdaq Helsinki, www.eQ.fi
eQ Group is a Finnish group of companies specialising in asset
management and corporate finance business. eQ Asset Management
offers a wide range of asset management services (including private
equity funds and real estate asset management) for institutions and
individuals. The assets managed by the Group total approximately
EUR 13.4 billion. Advium Corporate Finance, which is part of the
Group, offers services related to mergers and acquisitions, real
estate transactions and equity capital markets.
More information about the Group is available on
our website at www.eQ.fi.
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