Analysis: Activists Making Inroads

Hostilities between shareholders and corporate officers have reached a fever pitch this year, Financial Week reports.

At least 152 new activist campaigns were announced in the first quarter of 2008,  and the number of formal proxy fights resulting from those announcements is increasing, according to data from SharkWatch reported by FW.

One result is that activist investors have gained 32 board seats--a surprising number given their gernal lack of success in previous years.

“The number of activist campaigns against companies, the number of unsolicited offers, and the number of proxy fights are all way up, so all of those things give you a sense of what’s going on in this market,” FactSet MergerMetrics analyst Jim Mallea told FW.

The current uprising against corporate boards is an extension of activist efforts to eliminate takeover defenses like poison pills and staggered board terms that have been going on for some time. Last year, 42 proxy proposals to destagger board member terms were announced.

This year, 45 such resolutions have been proposed in the first quarter alone.