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Hunt or Be Hunted Is New Face of European Investor Activism

Swedish investor Cevian is taking aim at ABB, Thyssenkrupp
Using the press as a megaphone “doesn't pass unnoticed”

Bloomberg business news — The New Face of European Shareholder Activism

By

Tino Andresen and

Niklas Magnusson

January 29, 2016, 5:01 AM UTCUpdated onJanuary 29, 2016, 1:31 PM UTC

When Cevian Capital buys a stake in your company, you have a choice: Join the hunters or become the hunted.

It’s a decision the leaders of German industrial conglomerate Thyssenkrupp AG and Swiss engineering giant ABB Ltd. may soon face. Cevian has built the second-biggest stake in both companies, and if executives fail to execute its demands the firm will soon start a phase insiders call “The Hunt”: Seeking to turn investors against management to achieve its goals, which often entail shedding business units.