Bloomberg Quotes Andrew Freedman on a Record-Breaking 2018 in Shareholder Activism

Bloomberg and Bloomberg Big Law Business quoted Corporate Partner and Co-Head of Olshan’s Activist & Equity Investment Group Andrew Freedman in a recent article on the record number of companies targeted by activist investors in 2018. Thus far, 2018 has seen 240 activist campaigns against 218 companies with a market value of over $500 million. That is increased from 2017, when activist investors launched 194 campaigns against 169 companies. Moreover, activists won a record 160 board seats in 2018, compared to 100 seats in 2017 and the previous record of 145 seats in 2016. In particular, 2018 saw an escalation in the number of executives trying to enact changes at their former companies. Mr. Freedman commented, “The ouster of former CEO and founders has been at all time high over the past five years as shareholder activism has gained more clout. It’s not surprising that you have founders and former CEOs adopting the same activist tactics.”