Background

The Tender

In April 2006, the Directorate-General for Internal Market and Services of the European Commission invited tenders (MARKT/2006/15/F) for an external study into the proportionality between ownership and control in EU listed companies. The objectives of this study are:

		to identify existing deviations from the proportionality principle across EU listed companies;
		to analyse the relevant regulatory framework at Member State level;
		to evaluate their economic significance and whether such deviations have an impact on EU financial investors.

The winning consortium

In August 2006, a contract to undertake the study was awarded to the winning consortium comprising:

		Institutional Shareholder Services Europe (ISS Europe) is the European wholly-owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), which is the world’s leading provider of proxy voting and corporate governance services with over 20 years of experience. In May 2005, ISS acquired Deminor Rating, a prominent European corporate governance consultancy. ISS Europe will serve as the main contractor in the tender.to identify existing deviations from the proportionality principle across EU listed companies;
		Shearman & Sterling LLP (S&S) is a well-known international law firm with approximately 1,000 lawyers in 19 offices around the world, and more than 300 lawyers across eight offices in Europe. S&S will serve as a sub-contractor in the tender.
		The European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI) is a recognised international scientific association of over 80 research fellows and associates. Its mission is to improve corporate governance through independent scientific research and related activities. ECGI will serve as a sub-contractor in the tender.