Market Reactions to Hedge Fund Activism in Europe - An Empirical Study

Abstract

Activism is on the rise in Europe. In recent years, hedge funds have begun to target firms across the continent with the intent of generating profits through exercising shareholder rights to prompt change and address inefficiencies. Their interventions often lead to controversy as to whether they are a beneficial ownership addition to firms and their shareholders.

This thesis measures market reactions to the first ownership disclosure made by activist hedge funds in European listed firms. Through the application of a quantitative research method using an event study methodology, this thesis finds significant evidence that abnormal returns arise in the activist target firm shares, as well as that there is a difference both in the amount and behavior of abnormal returns depending on the circumstances surrounding the entry. Furthermore, we find significant abnormal returns to be present in each day of the post-revelation week, suggesting that an uninformed investor can profit from following the activists.