Undermining the Credibility of Activist Investor

Background

Forward Risk professionals were engaged to investigate the board slate proposed by an activist investor in a proxy contest targeting a company in the real estate sector.

Our Work

Our work revealed that one of the director nominees had previously been accused of sexual harassment. While the activist’s candidate was never named as a party in legal proceedings, and there was no media coverage of these accusations, our research – which encompassed not just the nominee herself, but also her corporate affiliations – revealed references to the nominee’s professional title in certain court filings.

These findings allowed us to identify legal documents alleging that the nominee had sexually harassed employees.

Results

Our client was able to use the information to mount a defense. While this nominee was the only candidate with an impeaching red flag, the nature of the allegations uncovered allowed our team to call into question the credibility of the activist as a responsible steward.