Sky Blog
Shareholder activism has undergone a striking transformation over the past four decades. What began in the 1980s as a brash and often combative movement led by so-called corporate raiders has matured into a sophisticated, globally attuned, and strategically agile phenomenon. …
After a relative low in global M&A in 2023, the past year witnessed a moderate uptick as the pandemic receded further into the rear-view mirror, the U.S. economy stabilized, inflation declined (albeit with some renewed concern toward the end of
Asia appears to be rapidly embracing Anglo-American corporate governance models – but looks can be deceiving. Our recent research reveals a striking paradox: While Asian jurisdictions widely adopt Anglo-American governance mechanisms in form, they often use these tools for remarkably …
In recent years, an increasingly popular strategy among hedge fund activists has been to acquire seats on the boards of target companies. These board seats are held by what we refer to as “activist directors,” who may be affiliated with …
2022 was a tale of two halves for M&A. The beginning of the year was active, as robust dealmaking carried over from the record-breaking levels of 2021 to drive approximately $2.2 trillion worth of global deals through the first half …
While the world recovers from the worst of the pandemic, the economic, political and social repercussions will continue to play out in ways that, while unpredictable, are in some respects characterized by observable patterns of cause-and-effect and cyclicality. The pendulum …
The days when activists focused on fights over social issues while businesses concentrated on the pursuit of commercial profit are gone. Through pronouncements, boycotts, sponsorships, lobbying, investments, and divestment, businesses and their executives are at the forefront of some of …
The SEC rule requiring a universal proxy card in director election proxy fights becomes effective today [September 1]. The resurgence of activism is already in progress, and the universal proxy card may significantly facilitate some proxy contests in which an …
Announced shareholder activist activity increased relative to 2020. The number of public activist actions (76 vs. 63), activist investors taking actions (48 vs. 41), and companies targeted by such actions (69 vs. 55) each increased. Suchlevels of activism are comparable …
Shareholder activism is playing a larger role than ever in companies’ decisions about their operations and reporting, with over 4,600 firms targeted worldwide from 2013 to 2018. Shareholder activists can have several motives for going after a company, from trying …
In many ways, 2021 was a high-water mark for corporate activism. The levels of traditional shareholder activism rebounded from the lows reached during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. M&A activism increased substantially as shareholder activists sought to capitalize …
Despite a short dip at the outset of the pandemic, activism has rebounded and now continues at an ever-growing intensity. As we have previously noted, regardless of industry, size or performance, no company should consider itself immune from activism. No …
Last year, we did a mid-year edition of our annual Thoughts for Boards of Directors to highlight key issues and considerations in managing the challenging business environment and profound upheaval caused by the pandemic. Many of these issues are still …
Activist investors once limited their targets to mostly smaller, less known firms. Now, though, they increasingly target large, household names like Procter & Gamble, DuPont, and Berkshire Hathaway, aiming to influence company actions, replace management, or even purchase the company.…
Deal activity (or inactivity) for much of 2020 was driven first by the unprecedented uncertainty and massive global shutdown of the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, and then propelled by rising markets and confidence as animal spirits anticipated the …
In a recent working paper, we look at what drives shareholder activism around the world and focus specifically on the role of corporate governance reforms.
While shareholder activism has been a force in U.S. capital markets for some time, …
This Client Alert provides an update on shareholder activism activity involving NYSE- and Nasdaq-listed companies with equity market capitalizations in excess of $1 billion and below $100 billion (as of the close of trading on June 30, 2020) during the …
While activist campaigns were down slightly year-on-year in 2019, stockholder activism remained a prominent tactic. Looking ahead to 2020, there is no reason to suspect a further decline. Activists notched some big wins over the year, notably Elliott in its …
Despite ebbs and flows of global economic uncertainty, M&A activity remained robust in 2019. Total deal volume reached $4 trillion globally, a slight decrease from the $4.1 trillion volume in 2018, but higher than the $3.5 trillion in 2017. The …
Shareholder activism is an investment strategy that investors such as hedge funds (HFs) use to increase the value of their investment by intervening in the management of a targeted firm. Activists can nudge management to take shareholder-friendly actions such as …