|
Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Activist investor Elliott Management disclosed on Wednesday that it had taken a more than 2.5% stake in the family-backed French spirits company Pernod Ricard.
Elliott wants the French drinks company to try to improve its performance via cost cuts and a potential merger with a rival. It also pushed for the addition of independent directors and more rigorous cost-cutting measures.
But the chief executive of Pernod, Alexandre Ricard, rejected Elliott's charge that the group would be a perennial under-performer with weak margins, defending his family company as "a beautiful success story" focused on long-term value creation.
Obviously, the 46-year-old CEO, one of the grandsons of the founder Paul Ricard, is bracing for a fight now that one of America's most feared activist investors has amassed a stake.
In a statement obtained by Opalesque, Christopher Rossbach, Chief Investment Officer of private investment office J. Stern & Co. - long time investor in Pernod - came out in open blasting Elliott's latest big bet on Pernod.
He said: "Pernod Ricard is the world's second largest spirit company with strong brands and a broad geographic reach, in particular in the fast growing markets of Asia, including China and India."
"Pernod benefits from long-term investment drivers including the premiumization of alcohol consumption in developed markets where consumers are willing to spend more to drink better, more expensive and more diffe...................... To view our full article Click here
|
RSS
