“Canada's regulations and standards make the region attractive for activist campaigns. Canada is particularly attractive for smaller activist funds which have recently enjoyed a great deal of success targeting smaller material focused companies.”
Jay Frankl, Senior Managing Director
Country:
Canada
Average % of insider ownership:
Activism
Threat Level
To learn more about this country, please click on the tabs below
With a regulatory environment that is viewed as more activist-friendly than the U.S., Canada is the second most likely jurisdiction for activism and has increasingly attracted investments from its southern neighbor. The commodity price drop in 2015 left Canadian firms vulnerable to attack and corresponded to a surge in activism activity. This particularly affected the basic materials sector, which ranks as Canada’s third largest industry. As commodity prices rose, particularly in the back half of 2016, companies were less vulnerable and activism activity dropped somewhat.
Shareholders must disclose a press release and warning report upon acquiring 10% or more of an outstanding class of shares within two business days. Additional disclosure is required when adding 2% to the ownership above.
Like the U.S., Canadian regulations allow for looser 13G type disclosure when an investor does not intend to influence the strategic direction of the company.
Few corporate defense options are available to Canadian companies. One such example is that shareholders vote annually on all directors and this permits the full board to be removed in one voting period.
Top Campaigns by Type
1. Gain Board Representation
2. Lack of/Inaccurate information from Company
3. Push for Sale of Company to third Party
Campaigns By Year
Total
Campaigns
Notable Invested Activists
• Pershing Square Capital Management
• Mouvement d’éducation et de défense des actionnaires (MÉDAC)
• Sandell Asset Management
Recent activism campaigns
| Osiris Therapeutics | VS. |
Cannell Capital LLC |
| SunOpta Inc. | VS. |
Engaged Capital |
| Canexus Corp | VS. |
Stirling Funds |
Total Active
Campaigns
Contact FTI Consulting
Capital Markets Research and Activist Engagement
Managing Director
+1 312 861 4721
Geoff.Serednesky@FTIConsulting.com
Americas Head of Capital Markets Communications
Senior Managing Director
+1 (312) 553 6707
Bryan.Armstrong@fticonsulting.com
Head of Activism and M&A Solutions
Senior Managing Director
+1 (202) 312 9216
Jason.Frankl@fticonsulting.com