NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) Feb. 1, 2023--Last week, activist investment firm Elliott Management Corp. confirmed rumors of a multibillion-dollar stake in Salesforce.com Inc. (A+/Stable/--), as did and Jeff Ubben who previously served at Value Act, through his new hedge fund, Inclusive Capital (the size of this stake was not disclosed). These investors now join Starboard Capital, another activist firm who reported an undisclosed stake on Oct. 18, 2022, and has worked with Elliot on previous activist campaigns. Broadly speaking, we view the presence of activist investors as negative for credit quality, given that campaigns often have wide-ranging implications on corporate strategy, operational initiatives, and often involve aggressive shareholder returns to the detriment of creditors. However, there are instances centered
