Banks find new niche as activist campaigns grow

By Jessica Toonkel NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. investment banks, many of which have reduced headcount in the face of shrinking profits, have found new opportunities in an unusual place, the growth in shareholder activism. Goldman Sachs Group Inc has long been the go-to firm for companies defending against activists ever since the days when they were called corporate raiders. But over the past few years, big banks like Credit Suisse and Barclays Plc as well as investment bank Houlihan Lokey, which focuses on the middle market, have formed practices offering the services. …