FTI Consulting Launches Activism Screener
Publishing, Telecommunications, Media, and Aerospace and Defense Top the List of Most Susceptible Industries in the First Quarter of 2019
Washington, D.C., July 10, 2019 — FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) today announced the release of its Activism and M&A Solutions practice’s Activism Screener, a proprietary tool to identify industries and companies potentially most vulnerable to shareholder and corporate activism. The screener found that publishing, telecommunications, media, and aerospace and defense are potentially most vulnerable to shareholder and corporate activism, based on filings from the first quarter of 2019.
Based on a proprietary algorithm created by FTI Consulting’s Activism and M&A Solutions practice, with the assistance of the Data & Analytics practice at FTI Consulting, the screener assesses public companies’ vulnerabilities to shareholder and corporate activism. The model generates a composite, company-level vulnerability score from 0 to 1.00, with 1.00 representing those companies that are potentially most vulnerable.
The screener is comprised of more than 3,400 publicly traded companies incorporated in the United States and Canada, with market capitalizations of at least USD$100 million. It is updated periodically to assess companies across 14 sectors, 25 industries and 128 sub-industries based on four categories: governance, total shareholder return, balance sheet strength and operating performance. Each of the four categories contains numerous customized performance metrics, weighted based on significance. To learn more, visit www.ftiactivism.com.
“With the rise and sustained nature of activism associated with U.S. and Canadian public companies, and the uncertainty this can create in the boardroom, this tool will help companies assess the potential vulnerabilities facing them, their competitors, their industry and their sector,” said Jason Frankl, Co-Leader of the Activism and M&A Solutions practice at FTI Consulting. “Companies with high vulnerability scores should view this as an early indicator of areas that should be addressed to maximize value, and also guard against the possibility of activism, whether sponsored by a shareholder or a competitor.”
Commenting on the findings, which entail more than 25 factors to identify vulnerability, Brian Kushner, Co-Leader of the Activism and M&A Solutions practice at FTI Consulting, said, “The common thread in many activism campaigns is that underperforming companies with an identifiable avenue to unlock value are likely be targeted. With the well-known challenges facing the publishing, telecom and media industries today, it is no surprise that the FTI Consulting Activism Screener found them to be among the most susceptible to shareholder and corporate activism. The question facing those companies, along with their peers in the aerospace and defense industry, is what steps can they proactively take to enhance their enterprise and create shareholder value?”
The Activism and M&A Solutions practice at FTI Consulting offers comprehensive consulting on activist engagements and M&A situations, providing forensic accounting, investigative, communications and industry capabilities that go beyond traditional due diligence and financial analysis. The practice identifies and investigates critical threats and opportunities by deploying integrated teams that work in conjunction with management and legal and banking advisors to shift the balance in favor of clients in an activism or hostile M&A situation. By leveraging their distinct vantage points, the practice’s senior experts become an extension of management teams to support and creatively resolve perceived value points of view in order to enable management to focus on business operations and avoid common missteps during an activist or hostile M&A situation.
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