(Bloomberg) -- Fund manager Terry Smith made a fresh attack on Unilever Plc following the collapse of its bid for GlaxoSmithKline Plc’s consumer-health unit, saying the Hellmann’s mayonnaise maker needs to focus more on fixing its own business.

In a new letter to shareholders, the outspoken investor described the failed approach as a “near-death experience,” saying that Unilever Chief Executive Officer Alan Jope’s attempt to purchase the GSK consumer business is now “thankfully dead rather than the value of our investment.”

Smith said that Unilever should have explicitly addressed vital points and explained them to investors before asking to be allowed to proceed with a bid. 

“Instead we were faced with a statement that the bid worked based on financial metrics including the all-important return on capital. However, getting management to discuss what that number was, was like a dentist pulling a back tooth,” Smith wrote in the letter that he signed with Julian Robins. “This was all the more puzzling given that GSK is a listed company and the profits and cash flow of the consumer division can be established from its segmental reporting.”

Before the bid, Smith published a letter to investors criticizing Unilever for focusing on sustainability to the point of neglecting its business.

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