Andrew Freedman and Ron Berenblat Cited in The Deal Article on Blackrock, Voting, and Insurgencies

Olshan Partner and Co-Chair of the firm’s Shareholder Activism Group Andrew Freedman and Partner Ron Berenblat’s recent Client Alert entitled “BlackRock’s Recent Move to Transfer Voting Power to its Institutional Investors Could Benefit Shareholder Activists in Election Contests” was cited by The Deal (subscription required) in regard to BlackRock’s recent commitment to give 850 of its largest institutional investor clients the option to vote shares connected to their investment. Mr. Freedman and Mr. Berenblat noted that, “Given BlackRock’s penchant for supporting management in election contests, this transfer of voting power could lessen BlackRock’s vast influence in proxy contests by opening up opportunities for shareholder activists to solicit such votes from the ultimate investor.” Proxy contests have become a focal point in recent proxy seasons, as BlackRock has previously supported dissidents only in Engine No. 1’s recent ESG battle at Exxon Mobil Corp., and in New Mountain Vantage Advisers LLC’s effort at Virtusa Corp.