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Dan Loeb’s Third Level Capital has constructed a stake in Tylenol and Neutrogena maker Kenvue, changing into the third activist hedge fund to focus on the $43bn shopper well being group in current months, mentioned individuals acquainted with the matter.
Third Level’s place in Kenvue could add stress on the corporate’s administration, which has more and more been considered as a takeover goal after it was spun out of healthcare group Johnson & Johnson in 2023.
In March, Kenvue named Jeff Smith, chief govt of activist investor Starboard Worth, to its board alongside two different administrators, averting a doable proxy battle. However since then, rival activist investor Toms Capital Funding Administration has additionally amassed a stake, pushing for a sale or break-up of the corporate, mentioned different individuals acquainted with the matter.
The dimensions of Third Level’s stake and the extent to which the hedge fund has engaged with Kenvue couldn’t instantly be established. Third Level and Toms declined to remark.
Kenvue on Friday refused to touch upon particular person shareholder discussions and mentioned it was dedicated to performing in the perfect pursuits of the corporate, including: “We stay targeted on accelerating sustainable, worthwhile progress and enhancing shareholder worth.”
Kenvue’s manufacturers embrace mouth wash Listerine, smoking cessation product Nicorette and skincare product Johnson’s Child. The corporate’s skincare enterprise has been shrinking because it faces stiff competitors from unbiased manufacturers tailor-made to youthful shoppers. Kenvue’s internet gross sales totalled $15.5bn this 12 months, flat with final 12 months.
Shares in Kenvue closed up about 1 per cent at $23 on Friday and are up 8 per cent this 12 months, however virtually unchanged from the corporate’s itemizing value when it separated from J&J. Kenvue’s inventory jumped 1 per cent after the Monetary Instances reported about Third Level’s stake.
Third Level, which has focused companies together with Walt Disney and Shell in recent times, has a historical past of collaborating with Toms on activist campaigns within the shopper sector. In 2022, each hedge funds constructed stakes in Colgate-Palmolive and agitated for a sale of its Hill’s Pet Vitamin division.
Third Level, which manages roughly $11.5bn, additionally adopted Starboard into software program firm Salesforce, which resulted in a brokered peace and a board seat for an additional activist investor — Mason Morfit, co-chief govt of hedge fund ValueAct Capital.
