(News Bulletin 247) – With 252 new campaigns carried out last year around the world, activist investors have never been so active, according to the annual count of the Lazard bank. The 2018 record was narrowly beaten.

Listed companies now have to deal more with activist investors who are more committed than ever to influence a company’s strategy. Over the whole of 2023, 252 new campaigns were launched globally compared to 235 in 2022, according to a report from Lazard bank.

Over one year, these campaigns – which consist of a minority shareholder entering into the capital of a listed company with a view to influencing its governance or strategy – have increased by 7% over one year, and above all by 46% per year. compared to 2021. The records of 2018 have therefore been broken. This vintage then included 249 companies which had been the subject of interest from activist investors.

Europe, a new playground for activists

A highlight of this 2023 vintage is that activist funds have slightly tended to abandon the United States, a playing field that is nevertheless emblematic of these contests between companies and activist funds. Last year, 133 new campaigns were carried out there. This is two less compared to the previous year.

Europe, on the other hand, is increasingly establishing itself as a privileged space for these battles. The number of campaigns increased by 15% on the Old Continent to reach a record level of 69 in 2023, compared to 60 a year earlier and 50 in 2021.

“Whether markets rise or fall, activism persists”, which is a sign that the practice “is here to stay”, explains to AFP Christopher Couvelier, head of Lazard’s European shareholder advisory activity.

A practice less and less criticized

Formerly perceived as itches or even vultures, activist funds appear to be more respectable. “There have been so many examples where campaigns led to a result deemed positive by other shareholders, which allowed them to begin to appreciate” these initiatives, notes Christopher Couvelier.

In January 2023, Bluebell and Inclusive Capital invited themselves into Bayer’s capital to revive a stock price which has been halved since 2018 and the nightmarish takeover of Monsanto. And barely arrived, they had already posted a victory in their hunt, namely the appointment – extremely rare – of a candidate external to the company, Bill Anderson, to replace the former CEO, Werner Baumann.

And another victory looms for these activist funds. Bayer’s management announced in November that it was considering a split of the group, under pressure from its shareholders who believe that the valuation of the group is worth much less than that of the sum of its entities, taken individually. The split plan announced by the German chemical giant into two entities, however, is less ambitious than that supported by activist funds which called for a division of the group into three.

These are all successes that have given wings to well-established actors. And even emulate them. Some activists would also like to follow in the footsteps of the leaders of shareholder activism such as the essential Carl Icahn, the multi-billionaire businessman, Jana Partners, Land and Buildings, Starboard Value or Third Point. Moreover, the number of activists to pilot their first campaign in 2023 has also reached a peak with 77 new actors, after 55 in 2022. This is also a record.