Activist Investor Shocks Wall Street: $10.9B Comerica Sale Sparks Bank M&A Boom
Activist Investors Target Underperforming Banks Until recently, regional banks drew little activist attention. That changed when HoldCo Asset Management loudly challenged Comerica’s board. In July 2025 HoldCo issued a report warning that Comerica and other midsize banks had underperformed due to poor management decisions ts2.tech ts2.tech. Within weeks, Comerica’s management began formally exploring strategic options, leading to the Fifth Third deal. HoldCo’s founders Vik Ghei and Misha Zaitzeff explained that many regional bank CEOs were overpaid and under-delivering – and they vowed to “shame” boards into action (via proxy fights if necessary) intellectia.ai ts2.tech. After Comerica, HoldCo moved on: it
