Olshan’s 2016 Shareholder Activism Review

Steve Wolosky, Andrew Freedman and Ron Berenblat of Olshan’s Activist & Equity Investment Practice wrote a three-part series featured in IR Magazine covering shareholder activism in 2016, looking ahead to 2017 and the universal proxy proposal.  In the first article Wolosky, Freedman and Berenblat summarized the shareholder activism space in 2016 stating, “Last year was another very strong year for shareholder activism in the US in terms of sheer volume and its significant impact on board composition, M&A activity and the governance, operational and strategic decisions made by boards of affected target companies.”  As activism has become mainstream in the US  it has also grown around the world as, “Activists ... continued to push the boundaries in which they operate to jurisdictions outside the US – particularly in Europe and Asia, where we believe US-style activist campaigns are beginning to gain traction.”