February 7, 2020
Activism: Highlights of 2019
Lazard recently released its report on 2019 shareholder activism. Here are some of the highlights:
– 187 companies targeted by activists, down 17% from 2018’s record but in line with multi-year average levels. Aggregate capital deployed by activists (approximately $42bn) reflected a similar dip relative to the approximately $60bn+ level of 2017/2018.
– A record 147 investors launched new campaigns in 2019, including 43 “first timers” with no prior activism history. Elliott and Starboard remained the leading activists, accounting for more than 10% of global campaign activity.
– Activism against non-U.S. targets accounted for approximately 40% of 2019 activity, up from 30% in 2015. This multi-year shift has been driven by a decline in U.S. targets & increased activity in Japan and Europe.
– For the first time, Japan was the most-targeted non-U.S. jurisdiction, with 19 campaigns and $4.5bn in capital deployed in 2019. Overall European activity decreased in 2019 (48 campaigns, down from a record 57 in 2018), driven primarily by 10 fewer campaigns in the U.K.
– A record 99 campaigns with an M&A-related thesis (accounting for approximately 47% of all 2019 activity, up from 35% in prior years) were launched in 2019. The $24.1bn of capital deployed in M&A-related campaigns in 2019 represented approximately 60% of total capital deployed. The technology sector alone saw $7.0bn put to use in M&A related campaigns.
– John Jenkins