Wolosky, Freedman and Berenblat Author Three-Part Activist Series for IR Magazine

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.”  In the second article Wolosky, Freedman and Berenblat provided their views on the SEC’s proposal to require ‘universal’ proxy ballets in contested elections, stating that, “some are skeptical that the rules will be enacted under the new Trump administration.”  In the final article of the three-part series Wolosky, Freedman and Berenblat provided insight into what 2017 holds for the shareholder activism space.  The Group stated, “We believe 2017 will be another banner year for activism, with a few twists and turns. While the number of activist situations in the US will parallel the number for 2016, we do not believe we will see the same high volume of activists jump right out of the gate as we have seen in prior years.”