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Walied Soliman talks to the Financial Post about the rise of proxy fights as a way for so-called shareholder activists to leverage control of their financial interests.

Excerpt

The precursor to the escalation of proxy fights in Canada has been a downturn in the financial markets.

"In the capital markets world, we're living in strange times," says Walied Soliman, a business lawyer at Ogilvy Renault in Toronto. "Just 12 to 18 months ago, investors and dealers were turning away opportunities. Today we're seeing a reverse. There's a dearth of issuers looking for opportunities to find new investors and really there is very little money out there for mid-market and upper-mid market development companies in development and production stages."

As a result, shareholders -- both individual and institutional-- are resorting to proxy campaigns as the next best means of garnering control.

But unlike most acquisitions or mergers, proxy fights can be dirty, very public and ultimately damaging to the company's corporate image.

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