– Corporate governance – Corporate structure and shareholders
Corporate structure and shareholders
The rigorous application of sound corporate governance helps to consolidate and strengthen trust in the company. Sulzer is subject to Swiss corporate and stock exchange laws and applies the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance.
Sulzer Ltd is subject to the laws of Switzerland, in particular Swiss corporate and stock exchange laws. The company also applies the Swiss Code of Best Practice for Corporate Governance. The rigorous application of sound corporate governance helps to consolidate and strengthen trust in the company. Sulzer has had a single share class and has separated the functions of Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO for many years. Since the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) of April 8, 2009, only individuals who have never held executive positions at Sulzer have been members of the Board of Directors. Unless otherwise indicated, the following information refers to the situation on December 31, 2021. Further information on corporate governance is published at www.sulzer.com/governance. The information in the following section is set out in the order defined by the SIX Swiss Exchange Directive on Information relating to Corporate Governance (RLCG), with subsections summarized as far as possible. Sulzer’s consolidated financial statements comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), and in certain sections readers are referred to the financial reporting section in the Sulzer Annual Report 2021. Sulzer reports the compensation of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee in the compensation report.
Corporate structure
The Company’s business is managed on a divisional basis and the organizational group structure corresponds to these reported segments, which consist of the Flow Equipment division (renamed in 2021 from Pumps Equipment), the Services division (renamed in 2021 from Rotating Equipment Services) and the Chemtech division. The operational corporate structure is shown under note 3 to the “consolidated financial statementsˮ in the financial reporting section. Sulzer Ltd is the only Sulzer company listed on a stock exchange. It is based in Winterthur, Switzerland. Its shares are listed and traded on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (Securities No. 3838891/ISIN CH0038388911). On September 20, 2021, the shareholders of Sulzer Ltd approved during an extraordinary meeting of shareholders the spin-off of the Applicator Systems division, which was the fourth division in the organizational group structure, and which was renamed medmix. The spin-off was effectuated by way of a symmetrical demerger pursuant to art. 29 lit. b in conjunction with art. 31 para. 2 lit. a of the Swiss Federal Merger Act dated October 3, 2003, without any changes to Sulzer Ltd’s share capital. Each shareholder of Sulzer Ltd received one share in medmix Ltd for each share in Sulzer Ltd held at the time of the demerger. medmix shares are traded on SIX Swiss Exchange since September 30, 2021. On December 31, 2021, the market capitalization of all outstanding registered shares of Sulzer Ltd. was CHF 3’078’473’945. Information on the subsidiaries included in the consolidation can be found under note 36 to the “consolidated financial statements”. The list comprises all consolidated direct subsidiaries of Sulzer Ltd as well as all further consolidated subsidiaries.
Significant shareholders
According to notifications of Sulzer shareholders, two shareholders held more than 3% of Sulzer Ltd’s share capital on December 31, 2021. As published on the SIX disclosure platform on May 29, 2018, Viktor Vekselberg held 48.82% of Sulzer’s shares. The shares are directly held by Tiwel Holding AG. Furthermore, FIL Limited, Pembroke, Bermuda, announced a stake of 3.25% as published on the SIX disclosure platform on October 9, 2021. For information on shareholders of Sulzer Ltd that have reported shareholdings of over 3% or a reduction of shareholdings below 3%, please refer to the website of the Disclosure Office of SIX Swiss Exchange: www.six-exchange-regulation.com/en/home/publications/significant-shareholders.html. For the positions held by Sulzer and information on shareholders, see note 24 to the “consolidated financial statements”. There are no cross-shareholdings where the capital or voting stakes on either side exceed the threshold of 5%. For information on transaction with related parties, see note 32 to the “consolidated financial statements”.