Tampa Lawyer With Boardroom Access Sees Troubling Trend Ahead

A recent case where a Central Florida medical firm successfully defended itself in a proxy fight demonstrates how shareholder activism is on the upswing. Holland & Knight represented RTI Surgical Inc., which faced a challenge from Krensavage Partners, a hedge fund that owned a 6 percent stake in the company.

"We’ve been seeing a lot of this," said Public Companies Attorney Robert Grammig. "There’s an awful lot of funds out there who are trying to make a name for themselves as being funds that take an active role in these companies. Usually what the activist wants is the sale of the company. They can buy at a relatively low price and then drive the sale of the company in the short term, and get a nice return for the investors and their funds."

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