The 2020s have seen periods of heightened market turmoil not seen since 2011 and 2008. The impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the war on Ukraine and now additional geopolitical events including trade and tariff wars, have presented significant challenges for corporates. How should they respond strategically and operationally? How should they best deploy their capital? Is now the time to seek acquisition opportunities? Or divestments?

OBSERVATIONS AND PREDICTIONS FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2025 AND INTO 2026

SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM IN EUROPE

Our latest A&M Activist Alert (AAA) report reviews the shareholder activism landscape across Europe so far in 2025 and provides an outlook for the rest of the year and into 2026.

Market volatility has been a defining characteristic recently and the uncertainties created have caused a slowdown in activist campaigning. Our analysis of how such volatility is linked with shareholder activism over recent years shows that after the initial slowdown, a surge in campaigns is likely to ensue. Other things being equal, we expect to see this surge in late Q3/Q4 2025.


 

 

 

 

Whilst we do not publicly release individual company predictions, we would be delighted to discuss specific AAA modelling and analysis for any particular corporate with a senior member of the company.

Arrange a personalised de-brief with the A&M team by contacting a member of our team in your local region.

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Related Insights
Global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (“A&M”) today announces the findings of its latest analysis and predictor of shareholder activism in Europe in 2022, the “A&M Activist Alert”, or “AAA”.
Global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (“A&M”) today announces the findings of its latest analysis and predictor of shareholder activism in Europe, the “A&M Activist Alert”, or “AAA”. This snapshot edition of the study has identified 59 U.K. corporates that are predicted to face a public campaign by an activist investor in the near-term. The analysis predicts an uptick in activist focus on the consumer sector, which has until now been falling in attractiveness for activists.
The sixth edition of the study predicts that, following a resetting of the battlefield for activist investors due to the pandemic, there will be a renewed interest in U.K. targets through 2021. Despite a lull in activist campaigns during the first wave of COVID-19, the disruption wrought on the corporate landscape means that “crunch time” is fast-approaching for many companies that have underperformed during the crisis. The AAA also predicts that technology, healthcare and industrials will be the most targeted sectors.
Corporates in the U.K. targeted by activist funds outperformed the market and global peers before and during the pandemic
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