U.S. shareholder activists have been increasingly active in the Canadian market over recent years.
Indeed, Canada is often described—sometimes accurately and sometimes inaccurately—as a more "activist friendly" jurisdiction than the U.S.
This being the case, both U.S. investors and Canadian public companies will be interested to learn of a recent, and somewhat "activist friendly" decision under Canadian securities law.
Specifically, it (1) sets a "relatively high" standard for finding shareholders to qualify as "joint actors," and (2) underscores the importance of the alleged "joint actors" having "actively worked together" in pursuit of a "joint specific purpose."
Writing in The M&A Lawyer (PDF, 177 KB), we explore this important new decision for the benefit of Canadian public companies and their directors, officers and investors.
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