As noted by Kingsdale Advisors in a recently published report, corporate directors and their legal
advisors continue to pay insufficient attention to shareholder
activism in M&A. The authors of the 2017 special report caution
that not only have shareholder activists been emboldened by
post-financial crisis legislative changes that afford shareholders
greater say, but that these investors also enjoy access to ever
more sophisticated playbooks. Further, they stress that activism in
M&A is no longer the exclusive domain of entrepreneurial hedge
funds; traditionally passive investors, including large asset
managers and even pension funds, are increasingly willing to ensure
that their voices are heard. Finally, while smaller underperforming
companies are naturally more vulnerable, larger companies would be
ill-advised to rest easy as activists are expanding their reach. In
short, and as made clear by a number of recent examples (such as
Carl Icahn's opposition to the buyout
