Underperforming Canadian companies should brace for a wave of shareholder activism as investors try to wring value from portfolios that have been battered in a global market slump.In the last few weeks alone, three top companies - BlackBerry maker Research In Motion , grain handler Viterra Inc and Canadian Pacific Railway - have faced highly public investor agitation, once a rarity in Canada.In all three cases investors are unhappy with management strategies to reverse falling stock prices.When management doesn't respond, a full-scale proxy battle can ensue, as activists resort to shareholder votes to force management to boost dividends, change strategy or even to scupper an unwanted takeover. For the agitators, a successful fight often results in installing their own supporters on the board of directors.
Viterra Inc. (Viterra) is a Canada-based vertically integrated international agri-business company. Shares of VT remained unchanged at $10.00. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $8.92 and as high as $12.28. On average, 860142 shares of VT.TO exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 382584.
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