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Abstract The mechanism through which outside investors perform active monitoring and its impact on firm value has been one of the central building blocks of corporate governance. Institutional investors play a key role in monitoring the company management and ensuring effective corporate governance. Institutional investors are now in a main position to assist in aligning the interests of management with those oftheir shareholders. Shareholder activism is a wide-ranging phenomenon that refers to the series of actions that investors carried out, to pressure corporate management and boards, so as to make adjustments.The rise of shareholder activism resulted from two trends: first, the escalating concentration of corporate ownership in the hands of institutional investors, second, the recession of merger and takeover because of the spread of anti-takeover activities among large corporations. It seemed likely that shareholder activism might eventually become an important factor in corporate governance. There are three alternatives for shareholders, to express their dissatisfaction with a firm. First, sell their shares. Second, carry on holding their shares and try to influence the firm. Third, do nothing and suffer in silence. However, many investors are choosing the second alternative and apply shareholder activism tactics to voice their dissatisfaction with firm operations i.e. they become ”active” campaigners for alteration. The Companies and Capital Market laws provide minority shareholders with a number of ex-ante measures, which include: the ability of shareholders holding 5% or more of a company’s capital to call a meeting or, alternatively, to raise objections to a given decision with the EFSA board and even the courts, and ask for its nullification. In addition, even a single shareholder has the right to lodge a complaint with the EFSA which is then obliged to investigate. Another essential feature is that extraordinary shareholders’ meetings (EGM) are held at any time at the request of the board or shareholders representing at least 10% of the company’s capital. The Companies Law 159/1981 stipulates that at the AGM, each shareholder has the right to discuss the board of directors’ report, the balance sheet, the income statement, and the auditors’ report. Shareholders could access different information on company affairs and governance practices from numerous sources including the Companies Department, EFSA, the EGX, MISR for Central Clearing,Depositary and Registry (MCDR), and the newspapers (when financial statements are issued). |