From healthcare to hoagies, activists abound this week with a spate of new ideas during the pre- nomination cycle of the activist calendar. We saw a mix of established players and newer ones, though the themes were pretty common. As is their wont, the activists are quick to diagnose problems and slow to offer solutions.

Many shots across the bow echoed an age-old activist message: you’re underperforming, so sell yourself or break up. This was the case in the industry-wide food fight in the restaurant sector: Immersion Investments told the Board of sandwich chain Potbelly to sell itself, Jana Partners is pushing for a sale of French Fry maker Lamb Weston, and JCP Investment Management is urging the Cheesecake Factory to consider a breakup.

At this week’s Active-Passive Summit, Starboard added Kenvue and Pfizer to its investments. In its Behind the Money podcast, the team at the Financial Times did some Wednesday morning quarterbacking of Starboard’s Pfizer presentation, characterizing it as an attempt to regain its footing. Fortune also weighed in.

Meanwhile, the battle between Elliott and Southwest Airlines is over, with Elliott withdrawing its special meeting request after it entered a settlement with the Dallas-based airline. 

Have a great weekend,

GPP team 

Reuters: EU Antitrust Chief Nominee Vows to Intensify Big Tech Crackdown

EU Antitrust Chief nominee Teresa Ribera aims to protect smaller businesses from “killer” acquisitions, targeting Big Tech and foreign companies that use state subsidies to purchase European peers. Read More

Bloomberg: Intel Wins Court Fight Over EU’s Historic $1.1 Billion Fine

The EU ruled in favor of Intel by finding that regulators failed to prove the company offered illegal rebates to PC makers. Intel still faces a €376.36 million fine for other alleged anticompetitive practices and is suing for interest on the original fine. Read More

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Reuters: More US Firms Lean on Retired, Veteran Leaders to Steady Ship in Choppy Economy

CVS Health's appointment of David Joyner as CEO reflects a growing trend among firms seeking experienced executives to navigate uncertainty. However, the success of these "boomerang CEOs" remains a mixed bag, writes Shivansh Tiwary and Aishwarya Venugopal. Read More

Shareholder Primacy: Advance Notice Bylaws with Ben Bates

In the latest episode of Shareholder Primacy, Mike Levin and Harvard Law School researcher Ben Bates discusses advanced notice bylaws, highlighting emerging trends and proposed regulatory changes, and examining how activists and regulators might respond. Listen Here

Stanford Graduate School of Business: 2024 Survey of Investors, Retirement Savings, and ESG

In an effort to understand ESG priorities of investors, Stanford University surveyed over 2,000 individual investors this summer, revealing that younger investors are less concerned about ESG and less willing to pay or push for ESG fund mandates, while older investors are more concerned about ESG but not at the expense of wealth preservation. Read More

M&A

The Wall Street Journal: Frontier, Spirit Airlines Revive Merger Talks

After the DOJ blocked JetBlue and Spirit’s merger earlier this year, Frontier is reportedly back in talks with Spirit, as Spirit itself is in talks with bondholders hoping to reach an agreement and enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Read More

Bloomberg: Siemens in Talks to Buy Software Group Altair

German engineering company Siemens is in advanced talks to acquire U.S. software company Altair, whose shares have risen following reports of a potential sale. An acquisition would reflect Siemens' strategy to shift toward software-driven products amid growing demand for engineering software. Read More

The Wall Street Journal: Frontier’s Biggest Institutional Investor Opposes Sale to Verizon

Glendon Capital Management, which owns almost 10% of Frontier’s shares, says the sale price “does not adequately capture Frontier’s progress and momentum.” Read More

FROM OUR DESK TO YOURS

GPPers took a cultural excursion uptown to experience the Met’s stunning new exhibition, “Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350.” The show spotlights often-overlooked early Italian Renaissance artists of the Sienese school like Duccio di Buoninsegna and Simone Martini, whose careers were cut short by the onset of the Black Plague, and reveals how these artists blended Byzantine and Gothic styles to create something new—the beginnings of Renaissance art. We highly recommend a visit, on display through January.

On Tuesday, GPP attended the Teens for Food Justice Gala, an organization dedicated to building a food-secure future through school programs and youth-led hydroponic farming in New York City schools. Guests enjoyed farm-fresh lettuce and herbs, among other produce, and supported the development of accessible gardening in Queens. You can learn more about Teens for Food Justice here.

PEOPLE MOVES

• Former Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman will become Disney’s chairman after joining the board last year. Read More
• HSBC named Pam Kaur as the first female CFO in the bank’s history. Read More
• After two and a half years on the M&A and private equity beat, Laura Cooper will take over beverage and tobacco coverage at The Wall Street Journal. Read More
• Lauren Silva Laughlin is leaving Reuters Breakingviews next month to start media company Batch. Read More

• November 12: Latham & Watkins: 2025 Proxy Season: Strategically Preparing for the Upcoming Season, Webcast
• November 12-13: 2024 Berkeley Fall Forum on Corporate Governance, San Francisco
• November 13: CNBC Delivering Alpha, New York
• November 14: Skytop Strategies Engagement & Communication, New York
• November 14-15: University of Texas’ new Director-Executive Summit, Austin

Follow us on LinkedIn Gladstone Place Partners

Please feel free to forward this along.