Alternative Market Briefing

Report: Activist investing hits new highs in 2016

Thursday, February 02, 2017

Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

The Activist Investing Annual Review 2017, produced by Activist Insight in association with Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ) was released today, analyzing 2016 trends in shareholder activism, ranking the "Top Ten" activist investors and providing predictions for the year ahead. The report shows a year-over-year increase in the number of shareholder actions. Activists targeted 758 companies worldwide in 2016, a 13% increase from 2015's total of 673.

Notably, many of those activist investments took place outside of the US. The number of companies facing public activist demands outside the United States surged to 302 in 2016, up from 255 a year before, driven by greater interest in Asia and opportunities created by volatile European currencies. In 2016, the number of companies targeted by activists rose 9 percent in the United States, 35 percent in Europe and 48 percent in Asia.

Activism has been having a moment in recent years for its outperformance over other strategies. "The large caps are recognizing that activism is here to stay, and many have proactively taken the steps to enhance shareholder value that an activist otherwise might have sought," said Marc Weingarten, SRZ partner and co-chair of the firm's global Shareholder Activism Group.

Among the "Top Ten" activist firms New York-based Elliott Management comes in at the top slot. The firm targeted 14 companies in 2016, more than any other activist firm. Elliott is alr......................

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