On February 23, 2021, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) released its reasons in ESW Capital, LLC, 2021 ONSEC 7 (the ESW Decision), in which the OSC considered the availability of an exemption from the minimum tender
activist engagement
Lesson Learned: An Examination of Trends in Shareholder Proposals
Shareholder proposals are often viewed as an essential tool for maintaining corporate accountability, but what role do they play in shaping corporate governance? ISS Analytics recently published a study (the Study) that reviewed the impact of shareholder proposals on…
Webinar – Corporate governance, shareholder activism, and hostile M&A: Key developments in 2018 and a look ahead
Walied Soliman and Orestes Pasparakis, co-chairs of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Canadian Special Situations team, will host a 60-minute webinar on corporate governance, shareholder activism, and hostile M&A on Tuesday, February 12, 2019 at 12 p.m. EST. To sign up, please
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Kingsdale Releases 2018 Proxy Season Review
Kingsdale Advisors has released its annual Proxy Season Review for 2018. The Review examines trends observed in 2018, predicts issues on the horizon, and provides advice to both issuers and activists in the marketplace.
In what follows, we pick out…
Activists knocking on the door
The Canadian Real Estate sector may be in for a shake-up. Reuters recently reported (here) that activists may be eyeing real estate investment trusts (REITs), and their approximate combined C$67 billion in market capitalization, as ripe…
Fasten your seatbelts: preparing for the globalization of hedge fund activists
Activist hedge funds have grown up and gone global, reinforcing the need for companies of all shapes and sizes to plan ahead for the possibility of an attack. A recent article by Martin Lipton in the Harvard Law School Forum…
The drivers and consequences of settlement agreements in proxy fights
Activist interventions are being increasingly resolved by way of settlement agreements, with 3% of activist interventions in 2000 having resulted in a settlement agreement versus 16% in 2011.[1] In light of this emerging trend, the Columbia Business School recently…
Members of Special Situations team weigh in on Canadian activism in Ethical Boardroom Magazine
Members of Norton Rose Fulbright’s Canadian Special Situations team have weighed in on shareholder activism in Canada with an article in the Spring Edition of Ethical Boardroom Magazine. The article, written by Trevor Zeyl (assisted by Joe Bricker), offers insights…
An age of shareholder empowerment
In a corporate directors survey (the Survey) entitled “The swinging pendulum: Board governance in the age of shareholder empowerment”, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) presents current trends in investor influence and their impact on governance practices of…
Multiple activist campaigns on the rise as activists outnumber target companies
A corollary to the trend of rising shareholder activism is the increasing frequency with which target companies are facing multiple activist campaigns. Companies that have successfully defended activist campaigns in the past are not free to rest on their laurels…