Sky Blog
Though shareholder activism is a pivotally important corporate governance topic, historical analysis of shareholder engagement with publicly traded companies has generally been cursory. In a recent paper I do much to correct matters for the United States in the first
Activism remains a persistent and increasingly important feature of the landscape for publicly traded insurance groups.
As we have discussed in prior Debevoise Updates, activist campaigns in recent years fall into two broad categories: institutional investors holding long-term positions and …
When activist investors acquire large stakes in a company and seek influence, they traditionally push for seats on the board of directors. In recent years, however, many activists have instead appointed a non-voting observer who can attend board meetings, receive …
Hedge fund investors play an increasingly influential role in shaping corporate behavior, yet their broader economic and social effects remain the subject of debate. In a new paper, we examine how hedge fund activism operates in family-controlled firms, a common …
American corporations have undergone a gradual but significant transformation. Founding chief executive officers (“founder-CEOs”) and activist hedge funds increasingly dominate their companies despite owning well short of a majority of shares. Founder-CEOs wield control through their personal brands or dual-class …
Shareholders have evolved from passive investors into active participants, often driving transformative agendas through activism. Proxy contests, in which investors seek to influence or seize board control, have proliferated, imposing substantial financial burdens on companies – estimated in the billions …
Activist investors and blockholders are unable to restructure and turnaround poorly performing banks, making it unlikely that they can enhance bank performance and contribute to financial stability. We argue that regulation and supervision hinder the flow of information needed to …
Each year numerous surveys, reports, and analyses assess boards of directors, or BoDs. One from PwC landed about the same time as another from SquareWell Partners in the past couple of months, inviting a comparison.
PwC has surveyed CEOs and …
The recent market downturn driven by uncertainty on tariffs, domestic policy shifts and the changing geopolitical landscape will continue to create new opportunities for activists in 2025. We highlight below how activism may evolve in the coming months:
Market Volatility …
Let’s say upfront: voting “no” or withholding votes on directors is a relatively weak way to influence a portfolio company. We’re stubborn, so we prefer electing directors or amending bylaws. Binding acts work much better than non-binding, like opposing exec …
Year after year, the world’s activist-investor community meets at the Active-Passive Investor Summit, the premier shareholder activist conference in New York City, organized by research and advisory service 13D Monitor. Yet at this year’s gathering, on October 22, the mood …
In a typical activist campaign, the activist threatens to launch a proxy fight unless the board of directors agrees to take certain actions to increase shareholder value, such as selling off company assets or replacing the CEO. Increasingly, however, there …
Activism has fully rebounded from the brief pandemic dip, with the past eighteen months seeing increased activity. As we have previously noted, regardless of industry, size or performance, no company is too large, too popular, too new or too successful …
There have been 12 proxy contests that have gone to a vote under the SEC’s universal proxy rules, which became effective on September 1, 2022. A review of these contests reveals several themes.
Overall Results: Activists obtained a board seat …
In March 2022, the SEC proposed mandatory climate disclosures for public companies.[1] While climate activist investors applauded the proposed rules, opponents lamented their scope and cost, arguing that the SEC lacks the authority to promulgate such rules. But the …
Military strategy and takeover strategy share a few things in common. At some point, generals and M&A lawyers each must recognize that the old technology no longer works as it did in the past and can no longer dominate the …
Stewardship has, along with sustainability, social equality, biodiversity, and climate risk management, emerged in recent years as a favorite buzzword in corporate governance and investment management circles. But the language used by investors to express stewardship objectives and practices varies …
Last February, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed to “modernize” the reporting of beneficial ownership of a company’s stock under section 13(d) of the 1934 Securities Exchange Act. As I explained in a recent comment letter to the SEC, the …
The upcoming Universal Proxy Card (UPC) presents activist investors with only one potentially significant new burden: solicit two-thirds of the shares in a proxy contest at a portfolio company. Everything else in the new rule, including the new proxy card …