ABSTRACT
Activist shareholders grab the attention of investors and the media alike, whipping up attention and sometimes controversy through the goals they set out to achieve and the ways they attempt to achieve them. Blackwells Capital LLC’s push to fire Peloton’s CEO and explore a sale of the maker of home fitness equipment, Nelson Peltz’s pressure on consumer products maker Unilever Plc, and Starboard Value LP, Macellum Advisors and Engine Capital LP’s strong-arming executives at Kohl’s Corp. are recent examples of activist shareholders using their financial clout to bring about change. These shareholders are nothing new. The 1980s saw Peltz and Carl Icahn advocating for change by pressuring boards of directors and convincing other investors that their plans would unlock greater shareholder value. Activist shareholders both then and now are often well-known hedge fund companies with deep pockets and enough stock ownership to sway strategy and votes – and garner the most media attention. However, the last few years have seen the rise of lesser-known activist shareholders, such as Engine No. 1, whose environmental, social and governance (ESG) focus are grabbing the attention of the business media, as a younger generation of activists look to assert their influence.
