NEW YORKLONDON, Reuters Activist investors are expected to launch more and bolder campaigns for change among European companies in the year ahead, advisers told Reuters, after a record number in 2023.

Europe was for years something of a backwater for activists as a company39;s management often had closer ties with local unions, sometimes with governments and often with big investors, than in other parts of the world, giving them more protection.

Disagreements were often hashed out behind closed doors.

But growing investor activism could force more costly and time consuming strategic standoffs as traditional investors, such as Deka Investment, join corporate agitators like Elliott Investment Management in openly demanding major changes.

In the past, investors in Europe shied away from calling for something so drastic, said Andrew Brady, who advises companies and activists as a director at SquareWell Partners.

But now active portfolio managers are more willing to apply pressure in Europe, he added.

Activists are seeking new frontiers and finding some old alliances in Europe are fraying, analysts, lawyers and bankers said. A survey from law firm Skadden Arps released on Monday found that 60 of polled companies expect shareholder activism in Europe to increase over the coming 12 months.

The stigma that has been attached to U.S. style activism where investors sometimes rely on 39;shock and awe39; with big investment plans, has dissipated some, said Christopher…