Hostile Takeovers and Cyber Breaches Have Something In Common

In a recent interview that appears in Forbes magazine, Managing Directors Neil Kirton and Benedict Hamilton share their insights and best practices on how companies and boards of directors can respond in the face of crisis situations such as hostile takeovers and cyber breaches.

In a potentially hostile situation, Neil suggests that “a review of your own vulnerabilities, whatever they could be, can dovetail well with a look at an aggressor.”

As for what could exacerbate the vulnerability of a company in a hostile engagement, Neil addresses the growing challenge of specialist research boutiques that are active promoters of short selling strategies as well as more common issues such as poor corporate performance, low ratings, or signs of management excess. 

Regarding the effect of cyber breaches and loss of proprietary information on shareholder value, Ben shares how Kroll has been “seeing more client requests to incorporate network and data security into due diligence assignments ahead of acquisitions. An increasing number of corporates are now asking both for independent reviews of their policies and procedures, and help running responses to mock attack.”

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