Activist Investor Calls for Probe of Leonardo SpA Shareholder Meeting Vote

Wyser-Pratte Management Co. Inc. said it is requesting an independent investigation into the vote at Leonardo SpA's annual general meeting held May 7, 2026. Shareholders received no opportunity to speak, ask questions or engage with management or the board.

The meeting was limited to approximately 60 minutes, closed to debate and conducted exclusively through a company-designated proxyholder. A Webex link provided to board members for remote access failed at 10:30 Central European Time, the exact moment the meeting was called to order.

Leonardo SpA staff acknowledged in writing that they could not guarantee the connection, and no confirmation was received that the link was restored. The government-backed slate received 50.097 percent of represented share capital while the opposing institutional investor slate received 49.481 percent.

The margin was less than one percentage point.

The dissident slate, known as Slate 2 or Item 005B, was put forward by a coalition of Italian and international asset managers coordinated through Assogestioni, the Italian Association of Asset Managers. Its four candidates were fully independent under both company and ISS classifications and were bound by strict governance criteria including conflict-of-interest rules and overboarding limits.

The activist investor stated that a government controlling less than a third of the company was able to secure a bare majority over the objections of independent global advisory firms representing billions of dollars in managed assets. Wyser-Pratte Management Co.

Inc. said it is in active discussions with legal counsel in Rome and will formally request an independent investigation into the vote tabulation. The firm said minority shareholders of Leonardo SpA deserve answers. The company had removed its chief executive who produced what the activist described as exceptional results and conducted the shareholder meeting under the conditions outlined above.