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Activist Hedge Fund Elliott Takes Stake In Pernod Ricard

By Steve Wynne-Jones
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Activist Hedge Fund Elliott Takes Stake In Pernod Ricard

Activist hedge fund Elliott Management has taken a stake in Pernod Ricard aiming to improve what Elliott said was relative underperformance at the French drinks company.

Elliott said on Wednesday that funds advised by the company had a stake of just over 2.5% in Pernod.

"Successive operational improvement plans have failed to generate operating leverage, leaving operating margins at a five-percentage point discount to its closest peer Diageo. Pernod’s M&A track record has also been disappointing, with the €6 billion acquisition of Absolut in 2008 falling short of expectations," Elliott said in a statement.

"Elliott has met with Alexandre Ricard, Pernod’s CEO, and has written to the company’s board to share its analysis and views on value creation," Elliott said.

News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.

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