US activist investor Nelson Peltz, founding partner of Trian Fund Management
(Picture: REUTERS)Alan Jope is having a busy couple of weeks.
First the Unilever CEO is raked over the coals by influential investor Terry Smith for trying to find meaning in mayonnaise. Just focus on growing the business, says Smith, not finding a purpose.
Then Jope put half the City’s nose out of joint with plans to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer healthcare business. Last week began with a half-hearted attempt to defend the deal and ended with an inelegant climbdown after analysts and investors queued up to condemn the deal. Smith, a major Unilever investor, didn’t waste the opportunity to mock Jope once again.
Now Nelson Peltz, the influential US activist investor, has parked his tanks on Jope’s lawn. Peltz’s company, Trian Partners, has bought a chunk of Unilever stock, according to reports, and is almost certain to start agitating for changes. He started buying before news of the GSK bid broke, we are told, meaning his interest isn’t linked to the abortive M&A tilt.
New Yorker-Peltz has a long history in the food and drink sector. He got his start building up a family business in food distribution, eventually taking it public in the 1970s. Since moving into investment, he has targeted the likes of Heinz, PepsiCo and Cadburys.
What might he want at Unilever? A look at his most recent campaign at Procter & Gamble might be illuminating. Peltz pushed P&G to simplify its complex structure and spin off slower growing businesses.
Jope has already flagged plans along these lines, with Unilever’s “matrix” structure set for the chop and plodding businesses on the block. Perhaps words have already have been exchanged with Peltz.
The big question is whether Peltz is happy for Jope to remain in the driving seat after last week’s disastrous — and value destroying — takeover talk. It’s an open question.
