Shareholder Activism

Disney’s CEO still has time to be a hero

20 Mar 2024

Shareholders will soon vote on the $200 bln entertainment firm’s board line-up, the culmination of a bitter battle between long-serving chief Bob Iger and activist Nelson Peltz. Iger is likely to prevail. He should invite Peltz to join the Mouse House as a director anyway.

Disney CEO Bob Iger has a lingering legacy problem

15 Mar 2024

The $205 bln company is trolling to replace its longstanding boss. Perhaps its someone in-house or an outsider brought in by a deal. But Tinseltown is skeptical he’ll leave. Iger may bat down activists in an upcoming vote. The best way to ink his legacy is by nudging the board.

Swarming investor gnats circle too widely

6 Mar 2024

New US rules have started helping smaller fund managers make a mark. They’re increasingly needling boards and stinging CEOs. When they flit around bigger targets such as Disney and Crown Castle, however, they’re easily swatted away and become a nuisance for larger activists.

Nelson Peltz becomes gadfly to Disney’s flywheel

5 Mar 2024

A 130-plus page presentation makes a strong case for how and why the $210 bln company's boss Bob Iger didn't do his job. Activist Nelson Peltz’s ideas for fixing Disney are weaker. Still, CEOs run companies; board members keep tabs. In a smaller world, Peltz might win a seat.

Warner Bros Discovery makes case against media M&A

23 Feb 2024

The HBO owner’s first full year since the merger of Warner and Discovery was a grim one. Boss David Zaslav lived up to cost-cut goals but missed nearly everywhere else. Even well-run deals can’t stem industry woes, making future tie-ups - with, say, Paramount - look ill-advised.

JetBlue’s turbulence gives Carl Icahn an easy ride

13 Feb 2024

The corporate rabble-rouser took a stake in the airline as it struggles with a defunct deal and business turmoil. That resembles Illumina, where Icahn won a 2023 campaign. Quick-fix activism can’t mend a panoply of issues. But striking at a weak moment can help activists anyway.

Japan is the new Disneyland of global activism

7 Feb 2024

Elliott wants $24 bln property giant Mitsui Fudosan to offload its stake in the Tokyo theme park operator and buy back shares. Like many of his peers, Mitsui's CEO is a convert to shareholder religion. The new challenge for activists is getting company bosses to be more devout.

Disney board bake-off will burn Nelson Peltz

5 Feb 2024

The entertainment colossus is battling against the corporate cage rattler’s director nominees. His previous fight with P&G shows how he can win with a small stake and disparate shareholder base. But this latest contest includes other adversaries, making success less likely.

Samsung may finally listen to pushy shareholders

24 Jan 2024

Palliser and other outsiders want the South Korean conglomerate’s defacto holding firm, Samsung C&T, to boost returns. It’s underperformed for years but if a court ruling goes in the favour of group leader Jay Y Lee next month, he’ll have a new reason to listen to agitators.

Exxon activists banished best with vote, not court

22 Jan 2024

The $385 bln oil giant wants a judge to stop a shareholder proposal urging stringent emissions limits from going to a vote. Similar measures failed before. Fighting rather than letting this one fall flat amplifies dissent and echoes past doomed dismissals of investor concerns.

Disney’s Bob Iger falls flat by his own standards

18 Jan 2024

Activist Nelson Peltz wants the $166 bln media company’s shareholders to back his board slate. Iger’s defense as CEO is that Disney is on the right path by taking sports network ESPN direct to viewers and cutting streaming losses. Trouble is, progress looks slim on both measures.

Disney’s angry mob risks doing more harm than good

3 Jan 2024

Boss Bob Iger struck a deal to secure support from Mason Morfit’s ValueAct ahead of a looming proxy fight with Nelson Peltz. Pushy fund Blackwells, meanwhile, has nominated its own directors. The mess is of Iger’s own making, but competing agendas further complicate his job.

Capital Calls: Cevian tries ‘relaxivism’ at UBS

19 Dec 2023

Concise views on global finance: The pushy European investor has bought shares worth around 1.2 bln euros in the Swiss bank, equivalent to a 1.3% stake. Yet it seems happy to sit back and let UBS management execute their strategy.

Uneasy lies the head of Crown Castle

28 Nov 2023

Pushy investor Elliott is again chiding the $47 bln wireless towers operator, urging it to replace CEO Jay Brown. The shares have dragged under his watch, with costly fiber networks partly to blame. As NRG and Citrix sensed, it’s unwise to slam the door twice on the hedge fund.

Two Disney activists aren’t better than one

15 Nov 2023

Mason Morfit’s ValueAct has taken a stake in the $168 bln Magic Kingdom, where it can take its own pushy path or work with fellow cage-rattler Nelson Peltz to shake things up. Dueling campaigns would make boss Bob Iger’s job easier. Tag-teaming doesn’t guarantee success.

Endeavor’s envy could become contagious

7 Nov 2023

The $12 bln talent agency and WWE owner led by Hollywood mogul Ari Emanuel is eyeing options after billionaire François-Henri Pinault paid a rich price for peer CAA. Silver Lake, with 71% of the vote, wants to take it private. A stingy bid risks making minority investors jealous.

Vans owner VF is due a wardrobe refresh

6 Nov 2023

The $6 bln apparel empire’s debt soared as shares sank 40% under its ex-CEO, whose costly deal for Supreme ran counter to its modus operandi. New boss Bracken Darrell’s cost-cutting plan has promise. Selling the streetwear brand and investing in known hits is the best next step.

Telecom Italia rival plan has too many pitfalls

3 Nov 2023

An ex-executive and a fund say the telco could raise 16 bln euros by offloading a Brazilian unit and other assets to slash its debt pile. That would spare it from selling its prized network to KKR. Yet bagging such valuations while executing a multi-step project looks tricky.

Sanofi sickness calls for activist tonic

2 Nov 2023

The pharma group lost nearly $27 bln of market value as it announced more investment in drugs. To keep investors happy, CEO Paul Hudson can sell its consumer business, step up dealmaking and buy back shares. Its long-suffering shareholder L’Oréal has reason to back bold action.

Music fund’s flat deal calls for major key change

25 Oct 2023

Shareholders are pushing Hipgnosis, run by industry veteran Merck Mercuriadis, to overhaul its board and cancel a $440 mln asset sale involving Blackstone. Poor governance and a discount value add weight to their case. A new management team could do better by selling the company.