In a new twist to what is shaping up to be the most hyped about tech IPO of the year, the shares sold in Snap’s initial public offering will not possess any voting power. This is being seen as an attempt to shield the governance of the company from the hands of fund managers and the sort, and keep it within the folds of executives — including the founders.
The move is certainly unprecedented as far as tech IPOs go and would work against the grain of how things are usually done whenever a tech company goes to offer its shares to the general public. Snap is also said to have arrived upon an expansion plan that will see the company increase its reach and aggressively attempt to gain more audience.
Meanwhile, the fact that these shares will not have voting rights underlines a major issue that is being discussed among corporate circles even as we speak.
Recently, a group of major fund managers including the likes of BlackRock Inc, Vanguard Group Inc and T Rowe Price launched a slew of initiatives so as to improve corporate governance — or at least change the current way of doing things in a major way. Among other things, they have…