Unilever shares soar as activist investor Peltz joins board

Unilever shares surged on Tuesday the diversified consumer goods company said billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz would be joining its board.

American Peltz, who founded Trian Fund Management, has been increasing his stake in the maker of Marmite and Dove soap since January. Known for his corporate activism, there has been speculation that he was looking to force change at the company.

Unilever on Tuesday said Trian holds around 1.5% of the company, and appointed Peltz as a non-executive director, which will increase pressure on chief executive Alan Jope to shake things up at the consumer giant after a prolonged period of share price underperformance.

In January UK pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline refused a £50bn offer for its rival consumer health products arm, instead choosing to proceed with a separate London Stock Exchange listing.

Peltz's other activist forays include campaigns at Unilever’s rivals, including Procter & Gamble, Heinz and Mondelēz. He joined the board of each company but has since stepped down from the positions.

He also made celebrity headlines last month when his daughter, Nicola married Brooklyn Beckham, son of David and Victoria Beckham. Peltz supported former US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign in 2020.

"Trian has a strong track record of creating value often by splitting businesses up into separate companies. CEO Alan Jope has faced a lot of shareholder criticism over his management decisions with fund manager Terry Smith saying he ‘lost the plot.’ The introduction of Peltz to the board comes as a healthy shake up that could breathe new life into the shares," said Interactive Investor head of investments Victoria Scholar.