Bank of America most favored for activism defense in H1 2023 - LSEG data

LivePerson

06/09/2023 20:24

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Bank of America  BAC.N 
vaulted past several rivals to rank as the top financial adviser
to companies targeted by activist investors in the first six
months of 2023, according to data published by LSEG.
    During the first half, Bank of America advised on 33
campaigns, including defending Salesforce  CRM.N  against
Elliott Investment Management, Starboard Value, Inclusive
Capital Partners and ValueAct. It also worked with LivePerson
 LPSN.O  as it battled Starboard and Life Storage when it
received an unsolicited offer from Public Storage  PSA.N  .
     Goldman Sachs  GS.N , which slipped into second place for
the first half according to LSEG data, advised on 30 campaigns,
leading JPMorgan Chase  JPM.N  which was in third place with 23
mandates. 
    A year ago, Bank of America ranked fifth with 12 mandates,
trailing Goldman, JPMorgan, Spotlight Advisers and Morgan
Stanley  MS.N .
    Among law firms which often work closely with banks to fend
off activist investors, Sidley Austin held its position as the
most favored by corporations with 32 mandates, the data show. 
    Olshan Frome Wolosky, which works only for activists, was
the busiest law firm with 44 campaigns.
    Sidley beat out Vinson & Elkins LLP which had 23 mandates
and Schulte Roth & Zabel, which also works only with activists, 
with 22 campaigns. Wilson Sonsini jumped into fifth place from
seventh a year ago with 15 mandates.
    Innisfree M&A held onto its rank as the No. 1 proxy
solicitor with 106 campaigns.
    The top eight advisers, including Spotlight, LDG Advisory,
Lazard and Evercore Partners worked on 136 campaigns in the
first half, down from 165 campaigns in the first half of 2022.
    Various providers compile league tables that are often used
to win new clients. But they seldom tell the entire story,
bankers say, noting that discrepancies can arise because many
companies fend off activists privately and ask their advisers to
stay silent about their involvement.
    
   

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, Editing by Nick Zieminski)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))