Suzano Papel e Celulose SA (SUZ) Risk Analysis
Risk Overview Q4, 2021
Source: the company's latest filing for the period ended Dec 31, 2021, filed Apr 29, 2022
Risk Change Over Time
No filing history is available.
- Environmental / Social - Risk 1Any failure to meet key stakeholders expectations regarding environmental, social and corporate governance ("ESG") matters may damage our reputation, raise our costs, decrease our revenues, or expose us to additional risks.
There is an increasing focus from customers, investors and other key stakeholders concerning ESG matters, as public interest and legislative pressure related to companies' ESG practices continue to grow. Regardless of the industry, investors' increased focus and activism related to ESG and similar matters may hinder access to capital, as investors may decide to reallocate capital or to not commit capital as a result of their assessment of a company's ESG practices. In addition, certain institutional investors rely on third-party providers proxy vote recommendation, benchmark proxy voting guidelines and analyses of ESG attributes. If we fail to align our Annual Shareholders' Meeting proposals with such recommendations or guidelines, certain shareholders may vote against them, which may adversely affect us. Companies that do not adapt to or comply with investors, consumers or other stakeholders expectations and standards, which are evolving, or that are perceived to have not responded appropriately to the growing concern for ESG issues, regardless of a legal requirement to do so, may suffer from reputational damage and the business, financial condition, and/or securities prices of such a company could be materially and adversely affected. If our ESG practices and policies fail to meet evolving expectations, standards and frameworks, our reputation, financial condition and employee retention may be negatively impacted.
Risk Highlights Q4, 2021
Risk Word Cloud
Risk Factors Full Breakdown - Total Risks 45
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 1Holders of ADSs may find it difficult to exercise voting rights at our shareholders' meetings.
Holders of ADSs do not have the same voting rights as holders of our shares. Holders of ADSs will not be our direct shareholders and will be unable to enforce directly the rights of shareholders under our bylaws and Brazilian Corporate Law, they are entitled to the contractual rights set forth for their benefit under the deposit agreement. Holders of ADSs will face practical limitations in exercising their voting rights because of the additional steps involved in our communications with ADS holders. For example, we are required to publish a notice of our shareholders' meetings in specified newspapers in Brazil. Holders of our shares will be able to exercise their voting rights by attending a shareholders' meeting in person or voting by proxy. By contrast, ADS holders will receive notice of a shareholders' meeting by mail from The Bank of New York Mellon, as our depositary, following our notice to the depositary requesting the depository to do so. To exercise their voting rights, ADSs holders have to provide instructions to the depositary on a timely basis on how they wish to vote. In practice, the ability of a holder of ADSs to instruct the depositary as to voting will depend on the timing and procedures for providing instructions to the depositary, either directly or through the holder's custodian and clearing system and this voting process necessarily will take longer for holders of ADSs than for holders of our shares. Holders of ADSs also may not receive the voting materials in time to instruct the depositary to vote the shares underlying their ADSs. In addition, the depositary and its agents are not responsible for failing to carry out voting instructions of the holders of ADSs or for the manner of carrying out those voting instructions. Accordingly, holders of ADSs may not be able to exercise voting rights, and they will have little, if any, recourse if the units underlying their ADSs are not voted as requested.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 2If holders of ADSs exchange their ADSs for underlying shares, they risk losing the ability to timely remit foreign currency abroad and other related advantages.
The ADSs benefit from the certificate of foreign capital registration, which permits our depositary to convert dividends and other distributions with respect to common shares into foreign currency, and to remit the proceeds abroad. The conversion of ADSs directly into ownership of the underlying shares is governed by CMN Resolution No. 4,373/2014, and foreign investors who intend to proceed with such conversion are required to appoint a representative in Brazil for purposes of Annex I of CMN Resolution No. 4,373/2014, who will be in charge of keeping and updating the investors' certificates of registrations with the Central Bank of Brazil, which entitles registered foreign investors to buy and sell directly on the B3. These arrangements may require additional expenses from the foreign investor. Moreover, if such representatives fail to obtain or update the relevant certificates of registration, investors may incur additional expenses or be subject to operational delays which could affect their ability to receive dividends or distributions relating to the shares or the return of their capital in a timely manner. If holders of ADSs do not qualify under CMN Resolution No. 4,373/2014, they will generally be subject to less favorable tax treatment on distributions with respect to our common shares. There can be no assurance that the certificate of registration of our depositary, or any certificate of foreign capital registration obtained by holders of ADSs, will not be affected by future legislative or regulatory changes, or that additional Brazilian law restrictions applicable to their investment in the ADSs may not be imposed in the future. Holders of our shares will be subject to, and holders of the ADSs could be subject to, Brazilian income tax on capital gains from sales of shares or ADSs. Brazilian Law No. 10,833/03 provides that gains on the disposition of assets located in Brazil by non-residents of Brazil, whether to other non-residents or to Brazilian residents, will be subject to Brazilian taxation. Our shares are expected to be treated as assets located in Brazil for purposes of the law, and gains on the disposition of our shares, even by non-residents of Brazil, are expected to be subject to Brazilian taxation. In addition, the ADSs may be treated as assets located in Brazil for purposes of the law, and therefore gains on the disposition of the ADSs by non-residents of Brazil may be subject to Brazilian taxation. Although the holders of ADSs outside Brazil may have grounds to assert that Law No. 10,833/00 does not apply to sales or other dispositions of ADSs, it is not possible to predict whether that understanding will ultimately prevail in the courts of Brazil given the general and unclear scope of Law No. 10,833/03 and the absence of judicial court rulings in respect thereof.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 3Holders of ADSs may be unable to exercise the preemptive rights relating to our shares underlying the ADSs.
Holders of ADSs may not be able to exercise the preemptive rights relating to our shares underlying their ADSs unless a registration statement under the Securities Act, is effective with respect to the rights or an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act is available. We are not obligated to file a registration statement with respect to the shares or other securities relating to these preemptive rights, and we cannot assure holders of ADSs that we will file any such registration statement. Unless we file a registration statement or an exemption from registration applies, holders of ADSs may receive only the net proceeds from the sale of their preemptive rights by the depositary or, if the preemptive rights cannot be sold, the rights will be allowed to lapse.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 4We may issue new shares, including in the form of ADSs, which may result in a dilution of our current shareholders' stake.
We may seek to raise additional capital in the future through public or private issuances of shares or securities convertible into shares. According to article 172 of Brazilian Corporation Law, we may not be required to grant preemptive rights to our shareholders in the event of a capital increase through a public offering of shares or securities convertible into shares, which may result in a dilution of our current shareholders' stake in our company.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 5The holders of our shares (including our shares underlying the ADSs) may not receive dividends or interest on net equity.
According to our bylaws, our shareholders are entitled to receive a mandatory minimum annual dividend of the lower of (i) 25% of our annual net profit, calculated and adjusted under the terms of the Brazilian Corporation Law, or (ii) 10% of our operating cash generation in the corresponding fiscal period, which is calculated by subtracting the amount of the investments in maintenance of the respective fiscal year from the Adjusted EBITDA, as defined in our bylaws. Our bylaws allow for the payment of interim dividends, to the retained earnings account or the existing earnings reserves in the last yearly or six-month balance, by means of the annual dividend. We may also pay interest on net equity, as described by Brazilian law. The interim dividends and the interest on net equity declared in each fiscal year may be imputed as the mandatory dividend that results from the fiscal year in which they are distributed. At the general shareholders meeting, shareholders may decide on the capitalization, on the offset of our losses or on the net income retention, as provided for in the Brazilian Corporation Law, with the aforementioned net income not being made available for the payment of dividends or interest on own capital. Additionally, Brazilian Corporate Law allows a publicly traded company, like ours, to suspend the mandatory distribution of dividends and interest on net equity in any particular year if our board of directors informs our shareholders that such distribution would be inadvisable in view of our financial condition or cash availability.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 6Our management is strongly influenced by our controlling shareholders and their interests may conflict with the interests of our other shareholders.
Our controlling shareholders have the power to, among other things, appoint a majority of the members of our board of directors and to decide any matters requiring shareholder approval, including related-party transactions, corporate reorganizations and disposals, and the timing and payment of any future dividends, subject to the requirements of mandatory dividends under the Brazilian Corporation Law. Our controlling shareholders may have an interest in making acquisitions, disposals of assets, partnerships, seeking financing or making other decisions that may conflict with the interests of the other shareholders. Additionally, any of our controlling shareholders may opt to sell significant part or the totality of their respective equity to third parties. In case we cease to have controlling shareholders, the remaining shareholders may no longer have the right to the same protection granted by the Brazilian Corporation Law against the abuses practiced by other shareholders and, as consequence, they may face difficulty in the compensation for damages suffered. Any unexpected change in our management, in our business strategy and policies, tentative of control acquisition or any dispute among shareholders regarding their rights, may adversely affect our business and operational results. In case a group of shareholders arises acting together or bounded by a voting agreement, and such group cause to hold the decision control, we may suffer unexpected changes in our business strategy and policies, including through the mechanism of the replacement of the board of directors and statutory offices. In addition, we may turn more vulnerable to hostile takeovers attempts and conflicts arising from such attempts.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 7Judgments of Brazilian courts with respect to our shares and the ADSs will be payable only in reais
Our bylaws provide that we, our shareholders, our directors and officers and the members of our fiscal council shall submit to arbitration any and all disputes or controversies that may arise amongst ourselves relating to, or originating from, the application, validity, effectiveness, interpretation, violations and effects of violations of the provisions of Brazilian Corporate Law, our bylaws, the rules and regulations of the CMN, the Brazilian Central Bank and the CVM, as well as other rules and regulations applicable to the Brazilian capital markets and the rules and regulations of the Arbitration Regulation of the Market Arbitration Chamber. However, in specific situations, including whenever precautionary motions are needed for protection of rights, the dispute or controversy may have to be brought to a Brazilian court. If proceedings are brought in the courts of Brazil seeking to enforce our obligations in respect of our shares or the ADSs, we will not be required to discharge our obligations in a currency other than reais. Under Brazilian exchange control limitations, an obligation in Brazil to pay amounts denominated in a currency other than reais may only be satisfied in Brazilian currency at the exchange rate, as determined by the Central Bank of Brazil, in effect on the date the judgment is obtained, and such amounts are then adjusted to reflect exchange rate variations through the effective payment date. The then-prevailing exchange rate may not afford non-Brazilian investors with full compensation for any claim arising out of or related to our obligations under our shares and ADSs.
- Share Price & Shareholder Rights - Risk 8As a foreign private issuer, we have different disclosure and other requirements than U.S. domestic registrants.
As a foreign private issuer, we may be subject to different disclosure and other requirements than domestic U.S. registrants. For example, as a foreign private issuer, in the United States, we are not subject to the same disclosure requirements as a domestic U.S. registrant under the Exchange Act, including the requirements to prepare and issue quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or to file current reports on Form 8-K upon the occurrence of specified significant events, the proxy rules applicable to domestic U.S. registrants under Section 14 of the Exchange Act or the insider reporting and short swing profit rules applicable to domestic U.S. registrants under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we rely on exemptions from certain U.S. rules which will permit us to follow Brazilian legal requirements rather than certain of the requirements that are applicable to U.S. domestic registrants. Furthermore, foreign private issuers are required to file their annual report on Form 20-F within 120 days following the end of each fiscal year, while U.S. domestic issuers that are accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 75 days following the end of each fiscal year. As a result of the above, even though, following the declaration of effectiveness of the registration to which this prospectus is attached, we will be required to make submissions on Form 6-K disclosing the information that we have made or are required to make public pursuant to Brazilian law, or are required to distribute to shareholders generally, and that is material to us, you may not receive information of the same type or amount that is required to be disclosed to shareholders of a U.S. company.
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