Billionaire Niel Faces GAM Minority Shareholder Revolt on Board
(Bloomberg) — GAM Holding AG, the Swiss asset manager backed by Xavier Niel, is facing a challenge from minority shareholders who claim the billionaire is misusing his position to override their rights and reshape the company at will.
A group of shareholders holding about 2.5% of GAM’s voting rights sent a formal complaint to Switzerland’s Takeover Board on April 20 and a lawyer for the regulator acknowledged receipt two days later, according to emails reviewed by Bloomberg News.
The complaint centers on Rock Investment, GAM’s majority shareholder and Niel’s investment vehicle. Minority investors said Rock was granted special treatment under Swiss takeover rules to help stabilize GAM, but is now using that position to reshape the company and avoid paying minority holders a control premium, according to people familiar with the matter.
The filing also challenged GAM’s proposed board lineup for the annual meeting. The investors objected to the nomination of the billionaire’s 24-year-old son and said the company was resisting stronger independent oversight, the people said.
Minority shareholders say their complaints go beyond governance. They argue GAM’s 2024 capital increase heavily diluted existing investors and let Xavier Niel’s vehicle lift its stake from about 30% to more than 70% without paying a premium. They say the Swiss regulator accepted that only because GAM was in distress.
Both the minority shareholders and a spokesperson for the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority declined to comment on the filings.
The complaint raises the stakes ahead of GAM’s May 12 annual meeting because it turns a fight over board seats into a broader test of shareholder rights at the Swiss asset manager, which is still recovering from years of losses, outflows and upheaval. GAM’s assets under management fell to 12.5 billion Swiss francs ($15.9 billion) last year from a peak of 164 billion francs in 2018.
GAM said in its annual meeting materials that it opposed the minority shareholders’ alternative board proposal and recommended investors vote against it.
“The board of directors of GAM Holding AG acts in the interests of all shareholders,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “The board’s proposals to be voted on at the annual general meeting on 12 May 2026 are set out in the published invitation of 20 April 2026.”
Rock, a unit of Niel’s NJJ Holding, ended 2025 with an indirect 76% stake in GAM after a recapitalization and has provided the company with a 100 million francs loan facility. GAM reported a net loss of 74.2 million francs for 2025.
NJJ Holding couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.
Several key senior staff also left the asset manager over the past few years, including two of the longest serving fund managers. Shares of the company have tumbled more than 95% since the end of 2019.
The dispute also comes as European asset managers face pressure from lower-cost passive products and closer scrutiny of fund fees. For Swiss firms, growth will depend on expanding abroad and investing in new products and technology.
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