Andrew Freedman Quoted in Bloomberg on an Exciting Year in Shareholder Activism

Co-Head of Olshan's Shareholder Activism Practice Andrew Freedman was quoted in Bloomberg (subscription required) on the relative slowdown of activist campaigns in 2019 (down about 11% from 2018), yet the creativity with which activists pursued campaigns in 2019 was unrivaled. “It was very dynamic in the sense that you saw the full-range of shareholder activism,” Mr. Freedman commented. Notable examples included the information sharing agreement between ValueAct Capital Management and Citigroup Inc. in lieu of a board seat and Carl Icahn’s push for an early board vote at Occidental Petroleum Corp. “A decade ago,” he continued, “activist campaigns looked very similar, and I think you are seeing activists approach situations in a more out-of-the-box, creative way.” Despite reporting the lowest number of overall campaigns since 2015, Activist Insight recently ranked Olshan’s Shareholder Activism Practice as the #1 law firm in shareholder activism for 2019, with 105 activist campaigns advised on throughout the year, more than double that of its closest competitor.