February 8, 2016
Secrets of the Activist Manager
In “Secrets of the Activist Manager,” PwC’s Larry Jones and Joseph Duerr draw from a new analysis of 55 companies over the past 10 years in which shareholder activists had a significant impact on company governance and strategy – and compared their performance to that of their industry peers. In five industries, they found that highly activated companies grew revenues much more slowly than their non-activated peers in the same time frame. To effectively combat shareholder activism with a short-term view, they advocate a 3-step approach for management to follow: First, evaluate, systematically and dispassionately, where the opportunities for value creation exist. Second, evaluate and execute options to deliver on those opportunities. And finally, communicate the growth plan to value-oriented investors.
Also see this NY Times’ piece entitled “Remaking Dow and DuPont for the Activist Shareholders”…