Last week, Third Point joined fellow activist hedge funds Elliott Management, Starboard Value, ValueAct Capital and Inclusive Capital who united to target Salesforce. While the business software maker is dominating headlines for the cadre of blue-chip activists piling into its stock, multiple activists swarming a company has become a growing trend, with the likes of Disney, Splunk, Bayer, Hasbro and Kohl’s all members of this unenviable club.

• With the markets suffering from beaten down share prices, activists have proven themselves willing to take advantage of newly vulnerable large-cap companies, even if they have to share the stage with peers who may have different objectives.

• The specter of multiple activists crowding at once – along with the emergence of Universal Proxy rules and the rising focus on ESG (both for and against) – is yet another reason companies must actively prepare to address the activist threat during the 2023 proxy season.

 Contact the FGS Shareholder Activism Team to learn more at ShareholderActivism@fgsglobal.com.