Glaxo shares rally as Elliott said to have built 'significant' stake

GlaxoSmithKline shares shot higher on Thursday as it emerged that activist hedge fund Elliott Management has built a multibillion-pound stake in the pharmaceuticals company.

According to the Financial Times, which cited a person with knowledge of the investment, the stake taken is "significant".

Glaxo announced last February that it was planning to split into two businesses: biopharma and consumer healthcare.

The FT said one person "familiar with the mood of some GSK shareholders" suggested that investors would rather chief executive Emma Walmsley - who has no background in science - ran the consumer health business than the demerged pharma business, as planned.

Walmsley took over as CEO in April 2017, having previously run the consumer healthcare segment, and the shares have fallen 14% since then.

At 1445 BST, the shares were up 5.6% at 1,360.20p.

Glaxo declined to comment on the FT story.