According to this Financial Times report [$$$], shareholder activist campaigns targeted at M&A activity were at record levels in 2019, comprising almost half of all activist activity in 2019.

M&A activism can take many forms, but perhaps of most interest to those also interested in appraisal is activism that focuses on already announced deals.  A

Recently, Vice Chancellor Slights refused to grant Carl Icahn and affiliates’ novel request for a company’s books and records in order to mount a proxy contest against Occidental for agreeing to an allegedly bad deal with Anadarko. The Vice Chancellor ruled that furthering a proxy contest was not a “proper purpose” to support the activist