Ancora Holdings has initiated a position in Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD - $68.9bn). The position is for ~$200 million (less than 1% of shares outstanding); no 13D filing reported yet. Ancora opposes the Netflix acquisition of WBD's studio/streaming assets (~$78 bn deal); urges the board to engage substantively with Paramount Skydance's $30/share all-cash offer (~$108 bn total); and potentially pushes to replace board members aligned with CEO David Zaslav. A shareholder vote is expected next month.

Engaged Capital is in battle with the management at BlackLine (BL - $2.7bn). BlackLine confirmed in early February that Engaged Capital formally nominated three director candidates (for all three Class III board seats up for election) at the 2026 annual meeting. Engaged also launched a dedicated website (SaveBlackLine.com) and is soliciting shareholders via a BLUE universal proxy card. Engaged wants to see a new board and launch strategic alternatives, including a potential sale. A core element in the Engaged statement is that the earlier rejection of SAP's offer for BlackLine was value-destructive. The confidential bid was $66 per share, made in June 2025, and was close to 47% above the current share price.

​The largest shareholder of Jack in the Box (JACK - $390.0m) is seeking to remove Chairman Dave Goebel due to significant underperformance and a -76% TSR over the past years, including a key capital allocation failure in the Del Taco transaction. A shareholder rights plan (poison pill) was adopted by JACK in July 2025 in response to Biglari's stake accumulation. The reaction with a poison pill might be warranted if a more aggressive rider comes along, but here it seems more to guard the Charimen from being ousted. So it’s in the best interests of the Chairmen, not the shareholders. Biglari has sent a fresh letter of recommendation to the company; find it here. The proxy services Egan-Jones has recently aligned with Biglari and proposes voting against Goebel at the upcoming annual meeting.

After a successful campaign, Elliot Management appears to be taking profits in Southwest Airlines (LUV - $28.0bn). Feb 2 SEC filing revealed Elliott sold >4 million shares between Dec 18, 2025, and Jan 22, 2026, reducing direct ownership to ~9% (combined economic exposure ~10.7% including options/swaps), down from a peak ~16% stake. Elliott forced a sweeping transformation at Southwest in 2024–25 (board overhaul, assigned seating, premium cabins, red-eye flights). The stake reduction is characterized as "portfolio management," and Elliott affirmed continued confidence in the strategic initiatives. Since the first filing on the 5th of August 2024, LUV's total return stands at +130%. A great example of where following an activist in a successful campaign can be lucrative.​

Daniel Loeb’s Third Point publicly launched its first activist campaign in three years, terminating its standstill agreement with CoStar (CSGP - $21.6bn) and announcing plans to nominate several directors to the eight-person board. The fund is demanding:

CSGP is down 34% over the past 12 months.

Erez Asset Management, which owns +5% of Veris Residential (VRE - $1.5bn), believes the company is worth $22-$25 per share, which is 40-70% above the current share price. This was disclosed in a 13D filing dated February 4. The REIT focused acitivst wrote in their 13D that they may engage Veris on:

Nelson Peltz / Trian Fund Management: Peltz stated at the WSJ Invest Live event that Trian is open to more outright buyouts following the $7.4B acquisition of Janus Henderson (closed Dec 2025) in partnership with General Catalyst. Peltz signaled that market conditions are favorable for further dealmaking.

Executive Order on proxy advisors (Dec 2025): The Trump administration's December 11 order directing the SEC, FTC, and DOL to curtail the influence of ISS and Glass Lewis remains in effect and is creating uncertainty for the 2026 proxy season. Some institutional investors paused or modified their stewardship engagement protocols; the order may make it harder for activists to secure support from passive managers.

Disclaimer

This analysis represents the independent views of Lind Research and is based on publicly available information believed to be reliable, but no warranty is given as to its accuracy or completeness. Nothing herein is investment advice or a recommendation. We publish openly, and companies do not influence our conclusions. Lind Research may hold positions in securities discussed.

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