Shareholder Activism

Gautam Adani’s woes were in banks’ plain sight

8 Feb 2023

Barclays, Standard Chartered, Deutsche Bank and others helped the Indian tycoon supersize his empire. A $110 bln share rout exposes their willingness to ignore warnings and take a narrow view of risk on lucrative relationships. As Adani struggles, the questions will get louder.

Japan activists seek smaller fish to fry

7 Feb 2023

With the Toshiba campaign stuck in the mud, some investors are eying easier prey. Elliott Management is angling for $6 bln Dai Nippon Printing; Oasis is after a $2 bln elevator maker. If these less ambitious campaigns don’t pay off, it’ll send gadflies back to the drawing board.

Nordstrom will be back on discount rack soon

3 Feb 2023

The department store chain’s market value surged 20% to $4.1 bln on news that pushy investor Ryan Cohen is lurking. His meme-stock following outweighs any retail savvy. Bed Bath & Beyond, which he targeted, is near bankruptcy and other activists have struggled in the sector, too.

Jeff Smith makes for a substitute Warren Buffett

30 Jan 2023

The activist’s $500 mln investment backing a deal by equipment auctioneer Ritchie Bros has come under fire. His support echoes Buffett’s moves at Occidental and elsewhere. Though the Starboard boss lacks folksy shine, he might be up to playing the role in all the ways that count.

Vodafone stake-builder sends fuzzy breakup signal

24 Jan 2023

UAE telecoms group e&’s 12% holding in its $31 bln UK peer makes it seem like a full bid or a breakup lies just around the corner. But the $61 bln Middle East stake-builder doesn’t seem that keen. And most of Vodafone’s many locales look hard to split off anyway.

Salesforce’s activists have an easy job

23 Jan 2023

Corporate cage rattler Elliott took a stake in the $150 billion tech firm alongside Starboard. They might want board seats or say in founder Marc Benioff’s successor. But the company is a better builder than buyer. With growth out of fashion, that’s naturally a good place to be.

Capital Calls: Activism, Bond spat, Airline M&A

18 Jan 2023

Concise views on global finance: Aggressive shareholder campaigns picked up in 2022, but activism is becoming an overcrowded strategy. Meanwhile, M&A machine Melrose takes on a fight that might not be worth winning, and German airline Lufthansa eyes a stake in Italy’s ITA.

At Walt Disney, the G in ESG stands for goofy

11 Jan 2023

Nike Chairman Mark Parker will run the media giant’s board and a search for boss Bob Iger’s successor. It’s odd considering Parker was part of previous ill-fated CEO decisions. He also looks stretched as Disney squares off with pushy investor Nelson Peltz. The drama never ends.

Bayer’s rude health lays better path for breakup

11 Jan 2023

Activists including Jeff Ubben are piling into the $58 bln German seed and drug maker. Its cheap share price, thanks to the dire Monsanto deal, has for years dangled the promise of a lucrative carve-up. Improvements in the pharma unit and a CEO change make it more likely now.

Activists will be no-holds-barred in 2023

3 Jan 2023

As once-hot companies lost market value, investors did lots of wrestling with management in 2022. Even more is to come, according to Lazard’s Chris Couvelier, who explains on The Exchange how corporate giants’ strategic woes and tempting cash piles will shape activism in 2023.

Capricorn mess mixes new and old ESG goofs

22 Dec 2022

Shareholders are angry at a takeover of the $950 mln oil group formerly known as Cairn Energy, months after they rejected a separate deal. It’s partly about price. But it also reflects investors’ new concern over environmental risks, and a very old dislike of poor governance.

New shareholder ballots win vote of confidence

20 Dec 2022

In the first election under rules enabling votes for both company and dissident board nominees, investors at $5 bln apartment owner Aimco chose a split ticket. Victory for one of activist Jonathan Litt’s two candidates augurs more compromise – and power for proxy firms like ISS.

BlackRock’s activist investor fights passive tide

7 Dec 2022

A tiny shareholder says boss Larry Fink’s climate-change position falls short and that the $8 trln asset manager shouldn’t impose its beliefs on companies. Some customers agree, but the firm’s solid performance makes it a tough target. When things are going well, inertia reigns.

Breakup is best cure for Fresenius chronic pain

6 Dec 2022

Covid-19 disruption and staff shortages have hit the $16 bln medical group, in which activist fund Elliott owns a stake. Sold separately, its various bits could better reward investors. Flogging low-hanging fruit like hospital builder Vamed would earn CEO Michael Sen a first win.

Google owner makes a quixotic Chris Hohn target

15 Nov 2022

The billionaire’s TCI fund wants boss Sundar Pichai to slash pay, pare moonshots and repurchase more stock. Setting aside that Alphabet is controlled by its founders, its performance stacks up well against peers. There’s room to improve, but it also can afford to keep being bold.

Conscious capitalism falls behind in the polls

4 Nov 2022

As U.S. midterms loom, companies are striving to appear neutral. For bosses of companies like BlackRock and Twitter, being disliked by both sides has become a badge of honor. It’s rational, but it’s also a shame. The opposite of so-called woke capitalism isn’t democracy but apathy.

King Icahn’s Crown stake invites regular activism

3 Nov 2022

The activist has an 8.5% stake in the drinks-packaging firm, which had a tough last quarter that caught its CEO off guard. A campaign at Crown is different than his recent one at McDonald’s – it has real financial teeth. Plus preying on management mistakes gave Icahn his throne.

It’s hard to squeeze pet food out of Colgate tube

28 Oct 2022

Pushy investor Dan Loeb makes a valid point that the toothpaste maker’s Hill’s division would be worth more as a stand-alone company. Breakingviews’ calculations suggest a potential 16% uplift in value. There also would be some adverse effects, however, which undermine the case.

Alan Jope exit is easiest step of Unilever revival

26 Sep 2022

Shares in the $111 bln Dove maker rose after it said its CEO would leave by end-2023. A botched bid for GSK’s personal health arm hit Jope’s credibility. But even with a new broom Unilever will struggle to pull off a big deal, and selling lower-growth units looks harder to do.

Kohl’s investor tries to make old wardrobe work

22 Sep 2022

Investor Ancora wants the CEO and chairman gone after the $3 bln retailer’s stock price halved in a year. But the activist has been around since 2020, and board members it backed haven’t helped. A sale is needed, but if Ancora doesn’t step up its game, it is just a distraction.