Warnings over risk of investor activism as boards focus on survival
Stock price falls have put some companies in a vulnerable position, while boards distracted by Covid-19 may not be prepared for activist intervention.
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As if boards didn’t have enough to do managing their companies in the midst of global pandemic, now they must contend with warnings of increased attention from activist investors.
Attention has gradually shifted to activism as the economic and business fall-out from lockdowns across Europe and North America has become clear. A warning on the Harvard Law School corporate governance blog, posted over the Easter weekend, warned that “companies that have had their valuations recently upended should assume that they may be targeted by an activist investor, either alone or in concert with others, and take steps to prepare accordingly”.
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