Jan 23 (Reuters) – Nelson Peltz’s activist hedge fund Trian Partners has taken a stake in Unilever ULVR.L, increasing pressure on the fast-moving consumer goods group, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
The daily cites sources with direct knowledge of the subject, who however did not specify the size of the stake acquired by the hedge fund of 8.5 billion dollars, based in New York.
Both Trian and Unilever declined to comment on this information.
The strategy of Unilever – maker of brands such as Dove soap and Hellmann’s mayonnaise – has come under scrutiny since the group de facto backed out of plans to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer healthcare arm GSK.L on Wednesday, indicating that it would not raise its offer by 50 billion pounds (60 billion euros).
(Reportage Vishal Vivek in Bangalore, French version Benjamin Mallet)