Robinhood CEO rejects AMC veto over stock tokens

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev defended the company’s AMC stock tokens on Sept. 9, arguing that public companies should not automatically control third-party securities referencing their listed shares. Summary Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev said AMC consent is unnecessary for tokens referencing publicly traded shares. Robinhood describes each stock token as a debt security backed one-for-one by underlying collateral shares. Token holders receive dividend adjustments but lack voting rights attached to the referenced AMC shares. AMC CEO Adam Aron threatened legal and regulatory action unless Robinhood stops offering AMC tokens. Robinhood has not announced how it will vote the underlying shares held as collateral yet. Tenev made the remarks during a CNBC “Squawk Box” interview, his first televised response since the dispute with AMC Entertainment CEO Adam Aron escalated. “Issuers should have control and do have control over the rights and obligations of the stock that they issue, but that doesn’t mean they control everything about it,” Tenev said. He argued that companies cannot prevent independent firms from issuing separate securities that reference publicly traded shares. “Issuer consent depen...