Ken Moelis, who runs boutique M&A investment bank Moelis & Co., expects a "significant" increase in shareholder activism this year.
Companies "are going to try to hold on their base business, which is their employees," Moelis, founder and CEO of Moelis & Co., said in an interview on CNBC on Thursday. "There's going to be enormous margin pressure from rates, energy and from people holding onto their culture and activists are going to try to take advantage of that."
"There will be a real fight between boards trying to the business they built and activists trying to take advantage of this opportunity," Moelis added.
Moelis comments come after billionaire activist invest Nelson Peltz earlier this month announced he was seeking a seat at the Walt Disney Co. ( DIS ).
While there have been discussions about mergers & acquisitions, actual transactions being announced appears to be tough right now, according to Moelis.
"There's a lot of discussion, but no I don't see activity completing right now because of the financial markets ...," Moelis said. "The last two or three weeks have seen some light. I do think we are in the eye of the storm here. I don't think it's going to be better for a long time."
Moelis, whose firm also has a restructuring division, also expects more bankruptcies this year.
"I think there are some companies that just financed at 6x-7x leverage and there might not be a 5x-6x-7x market," Moelis said. "You might even have companies hitting their business plan that find it difficult to access refinancing credit."
Earlier this week it was reported that UBS plans to bolster M&A dealmaker rank s as Wall Street firms pare down.
Earlier this month Eric Cantor, vice chairman of merger & acquisition advisory firm Moelis, said he expected deals would pick up this year after falling in 2022.
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M&A banker Ken Moelis expects significant increase in activism this year