The Impact of COVID-19 on Shareholder Activism in the Retail Industry

Join us for a virtual forum with Morgan Lewis partners Keith E. Gottfried and Christina Edling Melendi together with a panel of shareholder activism and retail industry advisors and thought leaders for a timely discussion on how the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic may uniquely impact shareholder activism in the retail industry.

The primary focus of many retailers in the near-term will likely be on staying afloat and addressing their liquidity needs, their ability to rebound from COVID-19, the health and safety of their employees and customers, and the overall health of their businesses. However, as the retail industry has been upended by COVID-19 as never before, retailers should also be concerned with how the turmoil caused by COVID-19 has made them attractive targets for activist investors.

Our panel will discuss several top-of-mind topics for retailers concerned with being in the crosshairs of an activist investor, including: 

• Recent trends in shareholder activism against retailers 
• Why activist investors like the retail industry 
• Retail sectors that attract activist investors 
• Why an activist investor would target retailers 
• Types of activist demands at retailers 
• How a retailer could be vulnerable to an activist investor in the wake of COVID-19 
• Steps retailers can take now to avoid being a "sitting duck" for activist investors

PANELISTS

• Keith E. Gottfried | Partner and Shareholder Activism Defense Leader, Morgan Lewis
• Rodolfo S. Araujo | Senior Managing Director and Head of Corporate Governance and Shareholder Activism, FTI Consulting
• Stephen L. Brown | Senior Advisor, KPMG LLP Board Leadership Center
• Kevin J. Daniels | Managing Director – Mergers & Acquisitions/Activism and Raid Defense, BofA Securities, Inc.
• Sydney R. Isaacs | Managing Director, Abernathy MacGregor 
• Gregory Rice | Partner and Co-Head Shareholder Advisory & Activism, Boston Consulting Group
• Gregory P. Taxin | Managing Member, Spotlight Advisors LLC

MODERATOR

• Christina Edling Melendi | Partner and Co-Leader of Retail and Ecommerce Industry Initiative, Morgan Lewis