Apparently Columbia Law Professor Jeffrey Gordon so argued in his Pileggi Lecture:
Prof. Gordon said investments by hedge funds, pension funds and other institutional investors often result in pressure on corporate boards to change, but Delaware law specialists should “celebrate,” rather than worry about, the latest evolutionary changes that activist investors bring to the role of corporate directors.
In comparison to the corporate raiders and takeover specialists who gained notoriety for buying and breaking up companies by circumventing target boards of directors with a direct-to-shareholders offer for a bare majority of the stock, activists use a minority position to leverage change, Gordon said.
Their usual tactic is to press their issues in a proxy battle, making the board the focus of the contest, he said. ” And this is a triumph for the board-centric form of corporate government that Delaware has promoted” (i.e., directors have the edge in corporate decision-making.)
That's a provocative claim. I am going to be very interested to read the article when it is available.
On a personal note, I had the privilege of giving one of the Pileggi lectures, which is where I had the privilege of meeting Francis Pileggi and his father. They're wonderful lawyers and people and this series is a highlight of the corporate law year.
