Thank you for downloading this program. In this edition of the bottom line, we're discussing

activist investors, the firms who target companies that are underperforming and buy a small

stake and demand change. Are they good or bad for business? Hello and welcome to the program.

Now, in the last few years, something important has been happening in business, and it has not had much mainstream exposure.

It's a steady rise in the role of activist investors.

Now, these are the folks who hunt down companies they think are underperforming, they buy a stake in the company, and then cause trouble for the management.

They'll often get a seat on the board and set about changing the company's strategy.

You could regard these investors as doing us all a favour,

seeking out or sacking the mediocre,

and, by the way, stopping poor chief executives paying themselves obscene salaries.

Or, on the other hand, you might view this as the latest

form of turbocharged financial capitalism in which finance people get in the way of decent people

trying to run good companies. And by the way, paying themselves pretty handsomely. Well, I have

three guests, each with some perspective on activist investing.

So let's take a few minutes to meet them.

And first off, I'm pleased to say we have with us a real activist investor, Harlan Zimmerman,

senior partner at Sevian Capital, which is the biggest activist investor in Europe.

Harlan, look, the best way for people to get to understand this will be for you to tell us

a specific tale of Sevian being an activist investor and getting involved in the company

and how it all ended.

So why don't you take us through an example?

Okay.

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