The first public interventions by activist shareholders in a German company in 2005 led the media and politicians alike to fear a substantial threat to the German economy as a whole. Since the first shock 20 years ago, the number of interventions has continued to increase, as has the scope of reporting on shareholder activism in listed companies. Our latest whitepaper examines over a hundred articles and includes insights from key figures in journalism, the corporate sector, and investor circles.
Starting from a rather negative attitude towards activist investors during the first intervention in 2005, the tonality in the media has changed noticeably since then. In the beginning, activist investors were hardly known in Germany.
Hence, politicians and company representatives had ample opportunity to extensively brief journalists on their view, supported by the often strong relationships between them. This led to asymmetrical reporting, often in favor of the attacked companies.
Now, as shareholder activism has become established, activists and companies have adapted their behavior, and media have responded by giving more consideration to motivations behind these cases before jumping to predict Germany’s doom.
In the evolving landscape of German corporate governance, the perception of shareholder activism has shifted from a threat to a corrective of corporate decision-making. Increasingly, activists are perceived as identifying and correcting management mistakes, thus playing a vital role in Germany’s economic success.
Experts from the corporate and media sector recommend that companies facing activist interventions engage with all investors including activists equitably and consider their arguments seriously.
The paper shows a nuanced shift in media tone and public perception, indicating that activism has become an important, though still debated, element of Germany’s corporate ecosystem. Read on to see how media coverage has changed from 2005 to today, and what this means for the future of shareholder engagement in Germany.
Download the whitepaper here:
𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗱? 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗼𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆
