H1 2025 Review of Shareholder Activism
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INVESTMENT BANKING
2025 Shareholder Activism: resilient campaign activity and boardroom victories
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2. Activist universe remains broad
Despite uncertainty, many investors continue to participate in activism – as 84 distinct funds launched campaigns year to date.
Following corporate governance reform, Japan continues to generate elevated activity, but not consistent activist wins. Seven of the 10 most active funds targeted Japanese companies, but concrete outcomes there remain elusive. Even when activists notch wins, board seats or other public concessions remain rare.
3. Campaign objectives reflect diverse activist focus
In an uncertain environment, many campaigns emphasised incremental improvements over transformational change. Strategy and operations remained an area of interest relative to its four-year average, continuing 2024’s trend.
In a more cautious M&A environment, particularly for dealmaking in small-cap companies, deal-related objectives appeared in 33% of all campaigns, significantly below the 45% four-year average.
Separately, sector concentration intensified: companies in the Industrials, Technology and Healthcare sectors accounted for 63% of campaign targets, up from 52% for the same leading trio in H1 2024.
Within those sectors, activist tactics reflected growing investor sophistication and diversification, ranging from spin-offs in tech, to industrial campaigns shaped by trade policy, to efforts targeting capital allocation inefficiencies in biotech and pharma.
4. Shifting pressures on management and proxy dynamics tilt the field
Settlements increased (36 vs. 26 in H1 2024), with half occurring before any public campaign announcement—a sign that behind-the-scenes engagement is yielding results. This contributed to an uptick in board seat wins: 86 YTD, up 16% on 2024.
Proxy advisors also became more assertive. The two leading advisory firms supported 69% and 85% of dissident nominees, respectively, more than doubling their H1 2024 rates of 29% and 37%.
Not surprisingly, proxy fights were more successful. In eight US contests that went to a vote, activists won seats in half, up from just 23% in H1 2024.
What to expect from activists in the rest of 2025
June’s rebound and a tentative M&A pickup suggest a possible return to normalcy—one that could bring more first-timers back into the fray. Still, geopolitical and macroeconomic risks persist.
Assertive proxy advisors, combined with an increase in success in private negotiations, have helped sustain high Board win rates. However, further shifts in investor voting behaviour could disadvantage activists in contested elections going forward if investors come under political scrutiny
Finally, the line between activists and private equity (PE) continues to blur, as some activists partner with PE firms to catalyse sales, and some PE players even adopt activist-style tactics. That evolution may shape the activist universe further in H2 and beyond.
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About the experts
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