Today's Financial Times newspaper reports the comments of the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Lord Mandelson, with regard to the rules governing the conduct of takeovers in the UK. The comments were given in a speech delivered yesterday at the Mansion House in London. A transcript of the speech is not yet available on the BIS website. According to the report, Lord Mandelson welcomed the Takeover Panel's review of the Takeover Code and argued for reform to reflect the "values of the long-term or organic growth and value creation over the temptations of excessive leverage and the fast buck".
Update: a copy of the speech is available here. It is more wide-ranging than takeovers and there is discussion of the duties of directors under the Companies Act (2006), about which Lord Mandelson stated:
... the Companies Act sets out the duties of directors to consider the best outcome for a company in the long term, considering the interests of all the stakeholders – employees, suppliers, and its brands and capabilities. Getting a higher price in a takeover may not be perfect proxy for that. It seems to me that we need to have a debate about how these various duties should be understood in the fast-moving circumstances of a takeover, when some of the company’s newest shareholders may not have a long term commitment to the company. Obviously we need Directors equipped to be stewards rather than just auctioneers. If this requires re-stating the 2006 Companies Act, then I am willing to do that".
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