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While Christmas and Hannukah came early for Mets’ fans, with the news that superstar Juan Soto would move from the Bronx to Queens, activists also loaded up on new gifts ahead of the holiday season with eight new positions unveiled this week.
Kudos to Adam Kommel for building another great activist conference, the Bloomberg Activism Forum, where activists revealed new positions and dealmakers discussed what trends they’re seeing. New names disclosed last week include Lionsgate Studios, no stranger to active shareholders, and Macy’s, yet again. Penned Semafor’s Liz Hoffman, “For activists, taking on Macy’s has been like fighting land wars in Asia—a tempting prize that usually ends in the opponent’s retreat.”
Advisors at the confab pointed out that corporates are much more proactive and are not waiting around for an activist to shake the tree. Wachtell’s Lina Tetelbaum noted that that ever-increasing dialogue between boards and shareholders has driven much of the improved board governance practices over the past decade. Perella Weinberg’s Jillian Alsheimer echoed this sentiment about being proactive, noting that the rise of first-time and vocal long-term shareholders makes it more important for companies to engage early and often with these participants to avoid unwanted surprises.
Dealmakers were buoyed by the first Merger Monday in a long time this week despite a mega grocery deal getting the thumbs down. Top dealmakers are echoing a bullish refrain with recent comments from JPMorgan’s Anu Aiyengar and PJT’s Paul Taubman, who both predicted in separate broadcast interviews that this late-year deal momentum is just the beginning, setting the stage for a sustained M&A uptick in 2025.
Have a great weekend,
GPP team
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