Energy company has the detail and renewables flag-waving to counter hedge fund’s call to split in two
It wasn’t necessarily the way to bet, but two big names of the FTSE 100 index have shown how to respond effectively when you have Elliott Management, the world’s most feared activist hedge fund, on your tail. The answer is to smile sweetly in public, do the engagement bit, and then deploy counter-arguments that are heavy on financial detail.
At GlaxoSmithKline, it was a case of defending management by making credible long-term sales and profit commitments, a pitch that seems to have satisfied other shareholders, barring an upset between now and next year’s demerger of the consumer division.
