The shareholder activist arena has traditionally been within the
U.S. capital markets, where a history of public and high-profile
activist campaigns has resulted in the establishment of well-known
activist players and has led to the rise of proxy advisors and
solicitors. Canada has witnessed both U.S. and domestic
players becoming increasingly involved in activist campaigns within
Canadian capital markets. In this context, the "rise of
shareholder activism" has been a relatively North American
phenomenon.
As noted in a recent article published by the International Financial Law Review (April 9,
2014) the "rise of shareholder activism" is becoming more
prevalent in Europe, with research showing activist activity on the
continent increasing threefold from 2010 to 2012. While
European activism has been most prominent in the United Kingdom,
the increase has been attributed to the weakness of the European
capital markets generally and the poor financial performance
