Danone targeted in fresh activist investor assault

A second activist investment fund said Thursday that it had built up a sizable stake in French dairy and water giant Danone, looking to revamp management and fire up a share price hammered since the onslaught of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move by the American fund Artisan Partners comes just a few weeks after another hedge fund, London-based Bluebell Capital, revealed it had acquired shares in hopes of provoking shareholders to demand a strategy review from Danone’s boss Emmanuel Faber.

Artisan in particular wants Faber to split his dual roles of both board president and chief executive, saying it would ensure accountability as the company plots a post-Covid recovery strategy.

“Change is urgently needed to avoid permanent damage to the group’s iconic brands and market position,” Artisan wrote in a letter to Danone’s board.

“Unfortunately, the financial performance of Danone is not consistent with the quality of its assets,” it wrote, adding that it had spent some $1.6 billion (£1.16bn) to take a stake of over three percent in the firm – making it the third-largest shareholder.

Danone’s shares plunged by more than a third last year as the coronavirus crisis shut down restaurants and tourism, a huge market for the firm’s profitable water brands such as Evian and Volvic.

In November, it announced plans to lay off around 2,000 of its 100,000 employees worldwide as part of a project to “reinvent” the company.

Danone said Thursday that it welcomed investments from shareholders with “constructive views on how to create long-term value.”

The company is to present its 2020 earnings on February 19, and has promised new details of its restructuring plan at investor meetings beginning on March 25.

Bluebell has not disclosed its Danone stake.