Activists In Europe – Adapt Or Be Fought Off

It seems appropriate to spend a moment this week on the state of activism in Europe as I leave it. The number of activist campaigns this year is at a record high – or thereabouts, with two months to go – and activism is seeping into the public consciousness. BBC Radio 4 hosted a documentary last night featuring Cevian Capital, a Swedish firm that would rather have eaten out at IKEA than be labeled an activist just a few years ago. The media, once pretty skeptical of hedge funds in general and activists no less so, has become pretty fond of punching up at underperforming or over-compensated management teams.