Institutional Investor Activism

The past two decades has witnessed unprecedented changes in the corporate governance landscape in Europe, the US and Asia. Across many countries, activist investors have pursued engagements with management of target companies.

More recently, the role of the hostile activist shareholder has been taken up by a set of hedge funds. Hedge fund activism is characterized by mergers and corporate restructuring, replacement of management and board members, proxy voting, and lobbying of management. These investors target and research companies, take large positions in `their stock, criticize their business plans and governance practices, and confront their managers, demanding action enhancing shareholder value.

This book analyses the impact of activists on the companies that they invest, the effects on shareholders and on activists funds themselves. Chapters examine such topic as investors' strategic approaches, the financial returns they produce, and the regulatory frameworks within which they operate. The chapters also provide historical context, both of activist investment and institutional shareholder passivity. The volume facilitates a comparison between the US and the EU, juxtaposing not only regulatory patterns but investment styles.

Contributors:

John Armour, University of Oxford
Dan Awrey, University of Oxford
Douglas Baird, University of Chicago
Lucian A. Bebchuk, Harvard Law School
Marco Becht, University of Brussels
Bernard S. Black, Northwestern University School
William W. Bratton, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Alon Brav, Duke University
Brian Cheffins, University of Cambridge
Douglas Cumming, York University
Peter Cziraki, University of Toronto
Na Dai, SUNY Albany
Jill E. Fisch, University of Pennsylvania
Julian Franks, London Business School
Stuart Gillan, University of Georgia
Henry T.C. Hu, University of Texas
Robert J. Jackson,Jr., Columbia University
Wei Jiang, Columbia University
Sofia A. Johan, York University
Marcel Kahan, New York University Law School
Steven N. Kaplan, University of Chicago
April Klein, New York University
Kai Li, University of British Columbia
Colin Mayer, University of Oxford
Joseph A. McCahery, Tilburg University Law School
Frank Partnoy, San Diego University
Ludovic Phalippou, University of Oxford
Robert K. Rasmussen, University of Southern California
Luc Renneboog, Tilburg University
Edward Rock, University of Pennsylvania Law School
Stefano Rossi, Purdue University
Per Strömberg, Stockholm School of Economics
Peter G. Szilagyi, University of Cambridge
Laura T. Starks, University of Texas
Randall Thomas, Vanderbilt University
Erik P.M. Vermeulen, Tilburg University
Wei Wang, Queen's School of Business
Michael L. Wachter, University of Pennsylvania
Emanuel Zur, University of Maryland