Activist Elliott built stake in Smiths ahead of break-up announcement, FT says

Elliott Management built a stake of more than GBP 300M in London-listed Smiths Group (SMGZY) ahead of the conglomerate’s announcement last week that it would pursue a break-up, the Financial Times’ Ivan Levingston, Sylvia Pfeifer and Costas Mourselas report. The hedge fund has accumulated an almost 5% stake in Smiths over the past year, according to people familiar with the matter. Elliott is supportive of the company’s plan to sell or de-merge two of its four core units and return much of the proceeds to its investors, the authors say.