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The activist investor Ben Rosenzweig talked about why Privet doesn’t want to buy Synalloy now even though he is seeking to take control of its board. He also discussed Privet’s partnership with an operating company for the campaign and his thesis that there could be “fantastic opportunities” that emerge when the volatility subsides.

The founder of the New York-based activist fund explains why he hires CEO experts and other advisers to assist with the fund's campaigns. He also explains why he will stick with his investment and campaign at transport and school bus company FirstGroup — one of the fund's largest positions — even as its share price gets battered.

Many hedge funds first-time activists, family offices and private equity funds who have been contemplating activism are going to walk away from their campaigns, while established activist investors such as Carl Icahn are building stakes and pressing forward with insurgencies, according the co-head of Vinson & Elkins' shareholder activism practice. Elbaum looked back at the 2008 crisis to...

Steven Lipin, founder of communications firm Gladstone Place Partners, talks with The Deal’s David Marcus about the Anixter and Disney/Fox deals, the lessons of WeWork, how he’s gone about building his firm since its 2017 launch, his love of natural wine and his favorite places to eat in New York.

Geoffrey Cain, author of a "Samsung Rising," talked with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today Podcast, about chaebols, the biggest swing vote in South Korea and activist investing. Cain provided behind-the-scenes details about Samsung's campaign to activist Elliott Management and complete its 2015 restructuring. He also talked about Hyundai's own fight with Paul Singer&apo...

New community banking activist Abbott Cooper offers his thoughts on his M&A pushes at Community Bankers Trust and First United, two middle-market financial institutions. In a wide ranging conversation, Cooper discussed what he considers to be strong and weak majority vote standards, why there isn’t much succession planning at small financial institutions and his thesis about consolidation in t...

Ted Smith, president of Union Square Advisors, discusses Permira's purchase of a majority stake in Lytx, the rise of tech PE, the outlook for software M&A, his work in building Union Square and his love of wine in this month's Drinks With The Deal.

Widener University's Lawrence Hamermesh talks about why there isn't much clarity about whether activists can gain access to corporate books and records to help director fights. The corporate governance and Delaware expert discussed books and record requests, company advanced notice bylaw litigation victories and why he thinks sunset provisions for insider-controlled share voting structur...

Frank Aquila discusses his work for Tiffany’s on its sale to LVMH, for AmGen on its purchase of Otezla, and for Novartis on its billion purchase of Medicines Co. as well as his favorite spots in New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo in the Drinks with The Deal podcast with David Marcus.

Retail investors are being harmed by essentially secret IPO protection deals still-private companies are reaching with mutual funds. At least that’s the view of Columbia Law School professor John Coffee, who spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about so-called IPO ratchets — contracts some mutual funds are receiving entitling them to additional shares in the event an initia...

The former Citi tech investment banker and author of 'How Money Became Dangerous' talks with The Deal’s David Marcus about working at Disneyland in the 1980s, being a tech banker in after the dot-com crash and investing in influencers.

Diana Moss, president of the American Antitrust Institute, suggested that financial activists are exerting pressure on companies to merge even though they carry a high amount of antitrust or other regulatory risk.

PJ Solomon’s Marc Cooper talks about brand authenticity, the challenges of being a CEO and the joys of the half-bottle.

Jeffrey Pierce, managing partner at activist fund Snow Park Capital, discusses his experiences with agitation at an Australian REIT and gives commentary the recent situation between Elliott and BHP as well as nuances to Australia’s federal corporate governance system on the Activist Investing Today podcast.

The top proponent of shareholder proposals spoke to The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast about what he thinks would happen if the nation’s securities regulator made it more difficult to submit proposals on environmental, social and governance issues.

Goodwin On CEO Lobby’s ‘Stakeholders’ Push -The chief of the Applied Corporate Governance Institute told The Deal that Milton Friedman’s 1970 doctrine of shareholder primacy is misunderstood and that the Business Roundtable’s recent ‘stakeholders’ statement of purpose may have a hard time enduring the next recession.

Activist funds face an uphill effort getting the votes they need to effectuate change. That’s the view of Mark Roe, professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Roe spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about why he thinks that observers should be wary about blaming activist hedge funds for perceived short-termism in the markets. “They [activists] have to have a really persuasive...

Some settlements reached between activist hedge funds and corporations represent an “unconditional surrender” by the targeted firm rather than a truce. At least that’s the view of State Street Global Advisers' vice president of the asset stewardship team Philip Vernardis, who spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about why he thinks companies should do a better job of s...

A lawsuit or two challenging California's recently approved board diversity law requirement is likely to emerge, though the proponents of such a challenge may not be immediately apparent. At least that's the view of Columbia Law School Professor John Coffee, who spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about a new trend of legislators pushing to require corporations h...

Activist hedge funds hurt research & development budgets at U.S. corporations, which has a broader negative impact on the economy. At least that’s the view of Columbia Law School Professor John Coffee, who spoke with The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about a study he co-authored on the impact of insurgent managers on corporations and the markets overall. In a wide-ranging conve...

Canada currently doesn’t have legislation mandating a non-binding vote of shareholders on executive compensation, but legislation percolating on Parliament Hill in Ottawa is likely soon to change the situation. That’s according to Catherine McCall, executive director of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance in Toronto. McCall talked to The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about w...

The Activist Investing Today podcast spoke with The Deal’s media, technology and communications expert Chris Nolter, about whether there would be interest in acquiring Sony’s entertainment assets now that it appears Third Point’s Dan Loeb is seeking to shake things up at the Japanese diversified multinational company. Nolter noted that Sony owns a major Hollywood studio and “there just are not tha...

It’s okay to call activist investors corporate raiders. At least that’s the view of Jeff Gramm, the author of “Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism.” Gramm talked to The Deal for its Activist Investing Today podcast about his book, why he launched a proxy fight at Texas Restaurant chain Luby’s and what he thinks about CEO pay packages.“ One big theme of the book is...

In 2015, Ertan Enginalev, launched his first public insurgency campaign in Turkey, urging an industrial conglomerate, Akfen Holdings, to consider strategic options such as listing a minority stake of a container port it controlled. Enginalev took some time to speak to The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast about the experience and why he thinks Turkey’s investor make up can make the country a...

Activist investors like Nelson Peltz who have board and operational experience are more likely to be viewed positively by influential proxy adviser Glass Lewis than hedge fund managers that have never held director positions. That’s the view of Mark Grothe, senior analyst in M&A and contested situations at Glass Lewis. Grothe, who has worked on the some of the most contentious proxy fights in...