Activists have been making a lot of noise lately – but clearly not as much as Meta’s new Threads app, which is giving Elon Musk’s Twitter a run for its money. According to Barclays’ latest Review of Shareholder Activism report for H1 2023, an above-average 133 campaigns took place globally, up slightly from 128 during the same period last year. Among other takeaways: Elliott and Align Partners led the way with the most campaigns (eight); companies in the tech, industrial and healthcare sectors were targeted most frequently; and a record number of campaigns targeted companies with market caps over $10 billion, including Salesforce and Illumina, as reported by The Deal’s Jean Haggerty. In the wake of universal proxy, activists also won a record 29 seats on corporate boards.

Meanwhile, the effects of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard College are spilling into the corporate world. The decision, which effectively ended race-conscious admission programs at universities across the country, could result in a less diverse pipeline of employees due to corporate America’s reliance on universities according to Joelle Emerson, CEO of diversity consulting firm Paradigm. Marty Lipton, a founding partner of Wachtell Lipton, notes that corporations and their boards will need to review their existing DEI initiatives to ensure they align with the company’s business strategy and mission.

Finally, Cava’s recent successful IPO may have been the spark needed to rejuvenate global market sentiment. Franklin Templeton-managed Fondul Proprietatea raised $1.8 billion in the largest share listing in Europe so far this year and the largest ever in Romania. EY suggests this momentum could continue: “We predict better IPO market conditions in the next 6-12 months on the back of a strong and high-quality IPO pipeline.” Within that pipeline is Gen-Z's favorite online retailer Shein, which has been in talks with the NYSE and Nasdaq about a potential listing, as reported by Echo Wang and Anirban Sen at Reuters. Meanwhile, Yahoo!’s CEO revealed to the FT plans to return to public markets and Reddit is “flattening its management structure” in preparation for an IPO.

Have a great weekend,

GPP Team

The Deal: Activists Push for Breakups, Sales

Jean Haggerty outlines key takeaways from Barclays’ latest Review of Shareholder Activism report for H1 2023 which include: an above-average 133 campaigns took place globally, up slightly from 128 during the same period last year, while companies in the tech, industrial and healthcare sectors were targeted most frequently. Read More

Axios: Why Companies Should Worry About the Supreme Court's Affirmative Action Ruling

Emily Peck outlines how the Supreme Court's ruling against affirmative action in college admissions could have a downstream effect on corporate diversity initiatives. Read More

Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance: The Fall of “Affirmative Action” and Its Implications for Employers

Wachtell’s Lipton analyzes the Supreme Court’s ruling against affirmative action and how it could impact employers' ability to achieve workforce diversity. Read More

Bloomberg: Europe’s Biggest IPO Raises $1.8 Billion for Templeton-Led Fund

Franklin Templeton-managed Fondul Proprietatea raised $1.8 billion in Europe’s largest share listing so far this year. Read More

Reuters: Shein in Talks with Banks and Exchanges About U.S. IPO-Sources

Echo Wang and Anirban Sen report on talks between Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein and investment banks, the NYSE and Nasdaq ahead of a potential U.S. IPO. Currently valued at more than $60 billion, Shein would likely be the largest IPO globally this year. Read More

Financial Times: Yahoo Plots Return to Public Markets

Yahoo! is considering a return to public markets, says the company’s CEO Jim Lanzone. The Financial Times’ Daniel Thomas reports the company is working with advisers on a potential listing, having restructured the business while private that has positioned Yahoo! well financially. Read More

M&A & IPOs

Bloomberg: Jefferies Sees Turnaround in Deals After Prolonged Drought

Could the long-frozen M&A and IPO market finally be experiencing a meaningful thaw? According to Jefferies President Brian Friedman, “green shoots” are starting to appear. Read More

Financial Times: FIS agrees to sell majority stake in Worldpay to buyout group for up to $18.5bn

Private equity firm GTCR has agreed to buy Fidelity National Information Services’ Worldpay—a merchant payments software—for $18.5 billion. Financed by major lenders including Citigroup and Wells Fargo, the deal values Worldpay at nearly 10 times its forecasted fiscal ’23 EBITDA. Read More

Reuters: Mars to Buy Healthy Food Maker Kevin's Natural Foods

To further diversify its snacking empire, Mars has agreed to purchase Kevin’s Natural Foods, a manufacturer of healthy “sous-vide” style meals. Anirban Sen and Abigail Summerville report that the deal values the privately backed Kevin’s at some $800m. Read More

The Wall Street Journal Opinion: Antitrust Officials Pile On the Paperwork

Christopher Williams and Henry Hauser of law firm Perkins Coie discuss the FTC’s newest proposal, which, by the agency’s own calculations, would result in significant increases in both the time necessary and costs associated with preliminary M&A filings. The authors argue that this proposal is a flawed “one size fits all” approach and is an example of overreach by the commission. Read More

CNBC: JetBlue Says It Will End American Airlines Partnership After Losing DOJ Antitrust Case, Will Focus on Spirit

In what may be a step toward ending the long, protracted process of its merger with Spirit Airlines, JetBlue announced it will not appeal a federal court’s decision to dismantle its alliance with American Airlines. The agreement, formally known as the Northeast Alliance, was challenged on the basis that it discouraged competition in the region; Leslie Josephs reports that in lieu of additional litigation, JetBlue will comply with the ruling. Read More

ESG

Bloomberg: Ex-BET CEO Debra Lee Says Diverse Boardrooms Address ‘Real World Issues’

Debra Lee, who helmed TV network BET for over a decade, discusses her path to success, how essential it is for companies to have diverse leadership in order to facilitate equity and the future of her former network. Read More

FROM OUR DESK TO YOURS

Last week, the GPP interns walked two blocks to New York's famed MoMA – the Museum of Modern Art, for our non-New York readers – and appreciated its diverse collections and air-conditioning. Georgia O’Keeffe’s retrospective and John Giorno’s telephone poetry installation were among their favorites. Additionally, they enjoyed MoMA’s old film clips experience featuring Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece Modern Times. 

While we understand that Joey Chestnut’s 16^th victory at the Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest cannot be topped, there is plenty more spectator sports coming up if you’re looking to beat the heat indoors. Our beloved Mets, rebounding in July after an awful June swoon, will face off against the San Diego Padres Friday at 9:00 PM ET and Saturday at 10:00 PM ET, followed by the 2023 Home Run Derby on Monday at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN and the 2023 MLB All-Star Game at 8:00 PM ET on Tuesday on Fox. Play ball!

PEOPLE MOVES

• Amanda Rajkumar has announced she will step down from her role as head of global human resources at Adidas and from the company’s board of directors. Read More

• Deutsche Bank has hired Samuel Kim as chair of M&A for the Asia-Pacific region. Read More

• Josh Maio has left SMBC to join Jefferies’ customer banking team. Read More

• July 10: Iconik Forum Sponsored by Berkeley Center for Law and Business, Virtual

• September 11-13: CII Fall 2023 Conference: Next Frontiers in Governance, Long Beach, California 

• September 28: Delivering Alpha Investor Summit, New York, New York