Key Takeaways
- Activism is alive and well
- Elevated public activity
- Increase in private engagement
- Varied set of agitants: new funds, long only funds, hedge funds, etc.
- Technology & Consumer in the cross hairs
- Representing ~50% of ’24 YTD activity
- Current campaign focus on operations and cost cutting
- Activists are waiting for M&A market to rebound to catalyze their stakes
- Despite Disney/Trian proxy battle, contest for Board seats in decline
- The Disney situation has garnered significant media attention, but what’s particularly intriguing is the decreasing frequency of such contests
- Noticeable increase in cooperation agreements amongst activists and companies, along with a significant rise in the success rate of activists securing seats
Source: Diligent Market Intelligence; All data is based on public campaigns by funds with “primary” or “partial” focus on activism at companies with market capitalizations >$1bn at campaign launch.