TUI sees delisting from the London Stock Exchange as a way to simplify its business structure, with 77% of its share transactions already conducted directly in Germany.
Given Rakesh Gangwal’s previous comments on selling his entire holding in InterGlobe over a period of five years, this news comes as no surprise.
Of more interest is where will the low-cost airline’s investor turn his attention to next?
Does TUI Group really want to be associated with a Russian oligarch who sits on its strategy committee and who is close to and allied with Putin during Russia's invasion of Ukraine? That sort of publicity could hammer the company's reputation and its customers won't take the news well.
Corporations are going to have to get used to shareholders taking them to task about the existential challenge of climate change. In this case, the shareholders were correct — buying carbon offsets while increasing carbon emissions just won't make the cut.
Regarding this particular shareholder proposal on increased transparency about political contributions, the stockholder who mattered the most was Barry Diller. But if the political winds in the U.S. are indeed changing, then corporations may find themselves under increased pressure to be transparent and to do the right thing.
Barry Diller's alleged right to retake control of Expedia Group, after wielding such power for 14 years, is under attack. At the least, the court-ordered delay in allowing him to exercise such rights could cost the Expedia chairman a ton of money.
Airbnb has legions of critics, and it knows that its articulated stakeholder goals will get intense scrutiny. But if the company turns some of these corporate governance aspirations into reality, then it could emerge looking pretty good compared with many established travel industry companies offering just lip service.