Goldstein and Icahn top list of US activists
Funds run by Phillip Goldstein and Carl Icahn have been the most active participants in US shareholder campaigns started by hedge funds during the first half of this year, according to activism research firm FactSet SharkWatch.
Goldstein’s Bulldog Investors and Icahn Associates were each involved in six activist campaigns out of 262 in the six months to the end of June. FactSet SharkWatch defines an activist campaign as going beyond a simple shareholder proposal and publicly agitating for change at an organisation.
An activism campaign can include formal proxy fights, exempt solicitations and publicly calling for a company to adopt new governance practices.
One of the year’s most publicised campaigns has been Icahn’s battle to oust Yahoo!’s board of directors and chief executive, and replace them with his own nominees to clear a path for a sale of the company to Microsoft.
Of the total campaigns, hedge funds were involved in 120, with Icahn and Goldstein’s firms accounting for 10% of those. Warren Lichtenstein’s Steel Partners came next with five campaigns, and five others tied with four apiece.
The same names tend to dominate the top spots each year, as both Goldstein and Icahn were among the five most active in each of the past three years. Peter Cohen’s Raimius Capital Group had the most campaigns last year, with 10.
Other hedge fund managers who were consistently near the top in activist campaigns include Joseph Stilwell of Stilwell Value, Roy Disney of Shamrock Partners, Bryant Riley of Riley Investment Management and Steven Cohen of SAC Capital Partners.
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