Ele Klein and Sean Brownridge are Partners at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP. This post is part of the Delaware law series; links to other posts in the series are available here.
In our previous article, (Much Too Early) Observations on the Universal Proxy Card, we reviewed what had occurred in the months immediately following the efficacy of the universal proxy rules, including by providing select observations regarding the first three contests in the universal proxy era. As our concluding observation, we noted that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same. That is, despite the universal proxy rules’ refinement of the mechanics by which directors are elected, the purposes and objectives of proxy contests involving board representation had not yet evolved. That can no longer be said, in light of the 2024 proxy season.
The universal proxy era has, in recent months, welcomed numerous firsts, including, among others, the first (i) proxy fight constructed with an E&S focus (the Strategic Organizing Center’s campaign at Starbucks), (ii) multiparty proxy fight (the concurrent campaigns run by Trian and Blackwells at Disney, which were accompanied by ValueAct’s solicitation in support of the company), and (iii) control contest to go to a vote at a U.S.-based company subject to the universal proxy rules (Ancora’s campaign at Norfolk Southern). In each instance, the activist fell short of its board-related objectives but nonetheless walked away with significant ancillary successes. READ MORE