Smith & Nephew share price rallies after activist investor report

Shares in Smith & Nephew (LON:SN) have jumped more than four percent in London in today’s session, following a Bloomberg report that activist investor Elliott Management had built a stake in the company. The news comes after the artificial hips and knees maker announced earlier this week that its chief executive would step down by the end of next year.

As of 10:09 BST, Smith & Nephew’s share price had added 4.12 percent to 1,415.00p, outperforming the broader UK market, with the benchmark FTSE 100 index currently standing 0.06 percent lower at 7,534.01 points. The group’s shares have added just under 14 percent to their value over the past year, and are up by nearly 16 percent in the year-to-date.

Elliott reportedly builds up stake in Smith & Nephew

Sources with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg last night that billionaire Paul Singer’s hedge fund Elliott Management had built up a stake in Smith & Nephew, without, however, specifying the size of the stake. Under UK disclosure rules, an investor is generally required to report a shareholding which exceeds three percent.

A spokesman for Smith & Nephew told the newswire that the company did not comment on rumour or speculation or “the identity of our investors other than those publicly disclosed”.

The report comes after news recently emerged that Elliott had embarked on an international tour of BHP Billiton’s (LON:BLT) biggest shareholders, pressing ahead with its campaign to force a radical shake-up of the Anglo-Australian miner.

Smith & Nephew chief executive to step down

The news of Elliott’s stake in Smith & Nephew comes after the FTSE 100 group announced this week that its chief executive Olivier Bohuon was planning to retire by the end of next year, after seven years at the helm of the artificial hips and knees maker. The company said that the board was commencing a search for a successor. 

As of 10:55 BST, Wednesday, 11 October, Smith & Nephew plc share price is 1,408.00p.