Unilever shares rise as billionaire investor Nelson Peltz joins board
Unilever’s share price has risen after the consumer goods company announced that the billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz is to become a board member.
Peltz, the US founder and chief executive of Trian Fund Management, has been building his Unilever stake since January amid growing speculation that he will push the Dove soap and Marmite manufacturer to shake up its sprawling operations.
His $7.4bn (£5.9bn) investment firm has previously mounted activist campaigns at Unilever’s rivals, including Procter & Gamble, Heinz and Mondelēz.
Peltz made headlines beyond the business sector last month when his daughter, Nicola Peltz, married Brooklyn Beckham, the son of David and Victoria Beckham, Brooklyn, in a lavish ceremony.
Unilever said on Tuesday that Trian Fund Management controls 37.4m Unilever shares, or about 1.5% of the company, as it announced his appointment as a non-executive director.
Investors responded positively and Unilever shares rose bymore than 7% to £37.45 in early trading, making it the biggest riser on the FTSE 100. This pushed up the company’s share price from a five-year low in March.
Peltz’s investment has added to the pressure on Unilever’s leadership under its chief executive, Alan Jope.
The company has been under fire after years of poor returns for shareholders: the company’s share price did not benefit from the stock market rally during the recovery from Covid lockdowns.
It was dealt a further blow in January – shortly before Peltz revealed his stake – when the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline refused a £50bn offer for its rival consumer health products arm, instead choosing to proceed with a spin-out listing on the London Stock Exchange.
Peltz will also serve on Unilever’s compensation
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