Activist investor Nelson Peltz reduces stake in Marmite owner Unilever

A feared New York activist has reduced his stake in British consumer goods company Unilever.

Investment giant Train Fund Management, run by Nelson Peltz, has sold around 3.8 million shares for nearly 181 million pounds, according to a regulatory filing.

Peltz, who sits on Unilever’s board, held a 1.47 per cent stake or 36.6 million shares in the owner of Dove soap and Marmite, worth about £1.4 billion.

He currently owns around 32.6 million shares.

Peltz’s hedge fund began building a stake in Unilever in early 2022 and he joined the board in May of that year.

Unilever shares have gained almost 30 percent since Trian’s stake went public in 2022, and are up more than 23 percent this year, rebounding last month after upbeat first-half results.

Trian sold small stakes for “portfolio management” purposes.

Peltz has backed Hein Schumacher as CEO in 2023.

In his first year, Schumacher oversaw plans to spin off the ice cream business, lay off 7,500 employees and focus on 30 brands to reverse years of underperformance.

Shares rose 0.4p, or 21p, to 4,747p.