(Bloomberg) -- Elliott Investment Management built a stake in Smiths Group Plc, the UK engineering group that’s announced it intends to pursue a breakup.
London-listed Smiths, which makes baggage-screening equipment, last week said it plans to de-merge or sell that business and divest its Interconnect unit, which supplies cable and wiring as well as connectors and antennae systems.
“As a large shareholder in Smiths, we welcome the value-enhancing measures announced by the company last week,” a spokesperson for Elliott said in a statement. “We look forward to an ongoing and constructive dialogue with the company in anticipation of the full presentation of its updated strategy on 25 March.”
The Financial Times reported earlier that Elliott has built a roughly 5% stake in Smiths over the last year, citing people familiar with the matter.
Shares in Smiths fell about 1.6% on Monday, giving the company a market value of around £7 billion ($8.7 billion). A representative for Smiths declined to comment.
Smiths has been under increased pressure from another activist, Engine Capital, which has been agitating for change. But Engine’s push was not the main factor behind the recent break-up move, Smiths’ Chief Executive Officer Roland Carter told Bloomberg News in an interview last week.
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