Enhance your standing with investors
We help clients understand how investor expectations are influencing valuation and TSR in the short to medium term. By identifying these priorities, management can better align strategic initiatives to reinforce the company’s equity narrative, sustain valuation, and reduce vulnerability to activist campaigns. We also help anticipate investor reactions to management initiatives, enabling leadership to avoid financial and governance landmines that could increase activism risk.
If a client is targeted by an activist, we will help management develop compelling counterarguments, focusing not only on the financial perspective but also on the strategic and operational angles (e.g., the viability of the company or asset as a standalone entity, the ability to improve margins at the pace suggested by the activist). We will aid in preparing management to engage with institutional investors and their proxy advisors by anticipating the difficult questions they may face and developing a narrative that secures shareholder support.
Ultimately, we help management secure ongoing shareholder support, ensuring that the company can execute its strategy without disruption. By aligning strategic initiatives with investor priorities and reinforcing a credible equity narrative, we help protect long-term value creation from activist pressure and short-term market volatility.
Our Services
Activism Defense Strategy
Supports companies in engaging with activists, assessing their proposals, and structuring financial and governance arguments that drive positive outcomes in contested situations. Each engagement is tailored to the company’s circumstances, avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches. A deep understanding of the factors that influence shareholder support enables the development of effective, situation-specific defense strategies.
Contested Engagement Preparation
Prepares management for high-stakes interactions with proxy advisors and key investors during contested situations. This includes simulating engagement scenarios, anticipating challenging questions, refining strategic messaging, and conducting dry runs to ensure readiness for actual meetings.
M&A Advisory
Evaluates shareholder expectations and potential reactions in the context of M&A transactions. Provides support in crafting pre-announcement messaging to avoid adverse market response and activist interest. Post-announcement, advises on navigating the shareholder approval process, including proxy advisor dynamics and institutional investor engagement.
Vulnerability Assessment
Identifies potential drivers of shareholder dissent and develops mitigation strategies. The analysis is approached from the perspective of an activist hedge fund or hostile acquirer, highlighting perceived financial and governance vulnerabilities. The outcome is a targeted roadmap to reinforce shareholder confidence and protect management initiatives.
Investor Insight Studies
Provides analysis of how investor expectations are influencing valuation and TSR (total shareholder return). Helps management identify key investor priorities and align strategic initiatives to reinforce the equity narrative, sustain valuation, and mitigate activism risk.
Investor Engagement Strategy
Advises companies on off-season interactions with institutional investors, providing guidance to executives and directors on engaging effectively around financial and ESG issues to secure sustained support for management initiatives.