CFOs should proactively address potential areas of activist attention to reduce the chances of becoming the target of a campaign.
Fifty-seven new campaigns launched in Q4, pressuring the management teams of Intel, Public Storage, ExxonMobil, and The Walt Disney Company, among others.
A record 99 campaigns globally had an M&A-related thesis, accounting for about 47% of all the year's activity.
Board diversity, corporate culture, and sexual harassment will be among the key discussion topics for corporate directors next year.
Corporate executives and activist shareholders rarely see eye to eye, but an attorney for the latter says activists can help improve company performance.
Directors also will focus on corporate social responsibility, board composition, activist shareholders, and SEC enforcement, among other hot topics.
Aiming to thwart shareholder activism, public companies' proxy statements are presenting shareholders with ever-more information and greater detail.
Keeping investors up to speed on the business should include more than just discussions of financial performance.
"Activism has become a crowded field, with too many players chasing after a diminishing number of attractive targets," says Moody's.
Repurchases or dividends were listed as among the use of proceeds in $58 billion of recent bond issues.
Shareholders are pressuring management to "identify risks associated with climate change, rein in greenhouse gases, or assess methane emissions."
Boards of directors are comfortable monitoring operational risk and fraud, but managing cyber risk is a totally different animal, finds a new study.
