David Rosewater

David Rosewater – Head of Morgan Stanley’s shareholder activist defense practice, Managing Director, Investment Banking Division

Specialties: Mergers & Acquisitions, Private Equity/Leveraged Buyouts, Distressed Investments/Acquisitions, Activist Investing

David Rosewater, a partner at Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP who has worked for activists including Trian Fund Management LP and Elliott Management Corp., has joined Morgan Stanley as a managing director and head of its activism-defense group.

The bank won’t be representing activists. Morgan Stanley has focused on defending companies from these investors, who push for board seats or other shake-ups in an effort to create value.

David has bring significant transaction experience and unique insight to shareholder activist defense assignments and our broader shareholder activist client dialogue.

Since 2013, Mr. Rosewater’s name has appeared on more than 50 so-called 13D forms, the activist regulatory filing that often serves as the opening salvo to a public fight, a review of securities filings shows.

He occasionally defends companies from activists, a role he playing much more often at Morgan Stanley, which advised General Motors Co. in its settlement with activist Harry Wilson and Sony Corp. after Daniel Loeb took a stake.