Activist buyers had their busiest quarter on report within the first three months of the yr, emboldened by depressed share costs which have offered a fertile surroundings through which to seek out targets.

There have been 83 new campaigns launched globally through the first quarter, in response to knowledge collected by Barclays, with Europe and Asia accounting for greater than 50 per cent of exercise collectively for the primary time.

Whereas there have been a number of high-profile campaigns within the US, together with an activist pile-on at software program group Salesforce and a shortlived proxy battle at Disney initiated by Nelson Peltz’s Trian Fund Administration, exercise within the area declined by 30 per cent yr on yr.

Activists purchase stakes in corporations they suppose are undervalued and agitate for adjustments that can assist improve the share worth, sometimes via asset disposals or administration adjustments.

Boardroom raiders, as they’re generally identified, have come again in full pressure after a quiet interval on the peak of the pandemic once they had been postpone by the optics of focusing on corporations that had been making an attempt to navigate a worldwide well being disaster.

Essentially the most prolific activist through the first quarter was Align Companions, a small South Korean agency based by former personal fairness govt Changhwan Lee. The activist, who launched eight campaigns in Korea through the first quarter, has made a reputation for himself within the so-called Okay-pop battle the place he took on SM Leisure.

Nonetheless, well-known activists corresponding to Elliott Administration, Icahn Group and Trian have continued to dominate with all of them threatening or embarking on proxy battles.

Carl Icahn is embroiled in a bitter combat with genome sequencing firm Illumina over its $30bn acquisition of Grail regardless of objections from EU authorities. Illumina final month advisable shareholders withhold votes for the three administrators nominated by Icahn on the firm’s upcoming annual assembly, saying his involvement is a menace to the corporate’s long-term success.

Boardroom battles are set to play out in a distinct context now as market contributors digest the Securities and Change Fee’s rollout of the so-called common proxy card, which primarily offers shareholders an à la carte possibility for director nominees the place they will vote for company-backed executives or these put ahead by activists.

In response to Barclays, common proxy is in “wait-and-see mode.”