Activist investors are putting cash to work like never before, setting their sights on bigger targets and extracting enormous paydays from companies once thought untouchable.
They’re awash with cash, as investors in search of returns in a low-interest rate environment pump cash in to the strategy.
Some of the boldface names of activist investing have made billions this year alone.
Business Insider takes a look back at some of the most successful plays by activist investors in recent memory.
Carl Icahn & Icahn Enterprises pushed Tim Cook to cut a bigger dividend check
Icahn has made an expected $5 billion off two trades: Apple and Netflix. Apple was his activist play, with Icahn earlier this year elbowing CEO Tim Cook to use some of the company’s cash holdings of nearly $200 billion to do buybacks. That earned Icahn Enterprises a reported $3.4 billion profit on Apple.
Bill Ackman & Pershing Square Management lost and still won
Pershing Square Capital last year bought nearly 10% of Botox maker Allergan and tried to push the company in to a sale to Valeant to earn a quick buck. New Jersey-based competitor Actavis stepped in with a $219 per share bid. That was nearly double what Ackman spent to invest in Allergan. Pershing bagged a $2.6 billion profit on the transaction, according to a New York Times report.
Jeffrey Smith & Starboard Value bagged $200 million in paper gains on Darden
Jeff Smith spun Starboard out of Cowen Group in 2011, and has already racked up plenty of wins and some impressive returns. The fund took a stake in Darden Restaurants at an average of $51.03 a share back in 2013. He succeeded in replacing the entire board last year. By the end of trading Thursday the stock stood at $68.85. Starboard holds more than 11.6 million shares of the stock, giving the firm a paper gain of about $200 million. Smith and Starboard are now shaking up retailer Macy’s.
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