Swedish hedge fund Cevian Capital now has a 5.02% stake in British insurer Aviva
Activist investor Cevian Capital has bumped up its stake in Aviva.
The Swedish hedge fund, whose boss Christer Gardell has been dubbed ‘the Butcher’, revealed in June that it had taken a 4.95 per cent stake in the British insurer. It has now ramped that up to 5.02 per cent, stock market filings revealed, taking its holding to just over £802million.
Gardell has a reputation for ruthlessness and called for the return £5billion of excess cash to shareholders by next year. This month, Aviva’s chief executive Amanda Blanc set out plans to hand back £4billion.
Niko Pakalen, a partner at Cevian, said: ‘We remain confident that Aviva will meet or exceed the expectations we have communicated.’
