Craig Wadler, managing director at Moelis & Co. LLC (MC), joined The Deal’s Activist Investing Today podcast to discuss how a stronger M&A market is shaping activist demands.

Wadler said activists are increasingly pushing companies to consider outright sales, divestitures, spinoffs and breakups. He said boards benefited from reviewing their portfolios before activists arrived to determine whether they remained the best owners for individual businesses.

Wadler also discussed how shareholder engagement is evolving as institutional investors encourage companies to hear activists’ arguments. The universal proxy card and activists’ use of experienced director nominees has also influenced decisions about settlements and proxy contests, Wadler added.

Finally, Wadler talked about how draft Securities and Exchange Commission rules seeking to permit semiannual reporting for corporations could affect activist investing, and he discussed say-on-pay requirements, emphasizing the importance of transparency, consistency and credibility with shareholders.

Listen to the podcast with Craig Wadler below:

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