Corporate Governance

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Equal treatment of shareholders and transactions with related parties

Orkla has one class of share and each share entitles the holder to one vote. Each share has a nominal value of NOK 1.25.

Further information on voting rights at general meetings is provided under point 6, General Meetings, se below.

The company’s policy is not to dilute the shareholdings of existing shareholders. In accordance with this policy, there have been no real share capital increases in the company in recent years. Should the Board of Directors wish to propose to the General Meeting that a departure be made from the pre-emptive right of existing shareholders in the event of a capital increase, such a proposal will be justified by the common interests of the company and the shareholders, and the grounds for the proposal will be presented in the notice of the general meeting.

To avoid any detriment to the Group’s reputation, the Board considers it important to pursue a policy of transparency and caution in connection with investments that could be perceived as an unfortunately close involvement, or close relationship, between the company and a member of the Board, executive management or parties related thereto. Procedural rules for such transactions have therefore been drawn up in the Rules of Procedure for the Board of Directors, which may be found below. According to the Rules of Procedure, the Board Chair must be informed of such transactions and must decide how the matter should be dealt with. If the matter concerns the Board Chair, this duty is incumbent upon the Deputy Chair of the Board. Further information on transactions between related parties is provided in Note 37 to the consolidated financial statements. In the event of non-immaterial transactions between the company and shareholders, a shareholder’s parent company, Board members, executive management or parties related thereto, the Board of Directors will ensure that a valuation is carried out by an independent third party. The Board will similarly arrange for a valuation by an independent third party in the event of non-immaterial transactions between companies within the Group where there are minority shareholders.

The Rules of Procedure further establish that a Board member must not take part in the consideration of or a decision on an issue that is of such importance to himself or herself or to any related party that the member must be considered to have an obvious personal or financial interest in the matter. It is incumbent upon each Board member to consider on an ongoing basis whether there are matters which, from an objective point of view, are liable to undermine the general confidence in that Board member’s independence and impartiality, or which could give rise to conflicts of interest in connection with the Board of Directors’ consideration of the matter. Such matters must be taken up with the Board Chair. According to the Orkla Code of Conduct, employees must on their own initiative inform their superior if they should recuse themselves from dealing with or if they have a conflict of interest in connection with a matter, and consequently should not take part in considering such matters.

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Statement of policy on corporate governance

Orkla is required to report on corporate governance under section 3-3b of the Norwegian Accounting Act and the Norwegian Code of Practice for Corporate Governance; see section 7 on the continuing obligations of stock exchange listed companies. The Accounting Act may be found (in Norwegian) at www.lovdata.no. The Norwegian Code of Practice for Corporate Governance, which was last revised on 30 October 2014, may be found at www.nues.no.

The company’s auditor has assessed whether the information provided in this statement with regard to section 3-3b of the Accounting Act is consistent with the information provided in the annual financial statements. See the auditor’s statement in the PDF below.

The Board of Directors at Orkla actively adheres to good corporate governance standards and will at all times ensure that Orkla complies with the requirements of section 3-3b of the Accounting Act and the Norwegian Code of Practice for Corporate Governance. This is done by ensuring that the topic of good governance is an integral part of the decision making process in matters dealt with by the Board. Furthermore, the Board assesses and discusses the principles annually, and has also considered this statement at a board meeting.

The following statement of policy is structured in the same way as the Code of Practice, covers each point of the Code and describes how Orkla complies with the Code requirements. Orkla is committed to promoting sustainable social development by operating in compliance with responsible business principles, systematically improving its operations in relation to the external environment, climate and energy resources and investing in profitable business projects that can generate positive ripple effects for society. The Group’s stance with regard to corporate responsibility has been defined in the Orkla Code of Conduct and the Group directive on corporate responsibility. The documents may be found below, and are described in further detail in a separate statement on Orkla’s Corporate Responsibility (see section 3-3c of the Accounting Act).

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Mandatory notification of trade

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