Seifi Ghasemi, president and chief executive officer of Air Products, speaks during a press event to announce the construction of a green energy import terminal at the Oiltanking Deutschland GmbH tank terminal site in the port.Â
Marcus Brandt | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
Activist investor Mantle Ridge has a $1 billion-plus stake in industrial gas supplier Air Products and Chemicals, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mantle Ridge, run by Paul Hilal, is seeking to meet with the company’s board to discuss strategic plans and capital allocation, said the person, who asked not to be named to discuss private matters freely. The activist investor also wants to push the company on succession planning for Seifi Ghasemi, Air Products’ 80-year-old CEO, the person said.
The Wall Street Journal was first to report of Mantle Ridge’s stake, and said the firm had been accumulating its position since March.
Air Products is badly underperforming the S&P 500 for a second straight year. After falling in 2023, the stock is up 6.4% in 2024, while the S&P 500 has gained 21%. Air Products has a market cap of about $63 billion as of Friday’s close.
The company has dealt with management upheaval this year, with COO Samir Serhan abruptly stepping down in July. Ghasemi, meanwhile, is one of the oldest CEOs among S&P 500 companies. Warren Buffett, the billionaire CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, is the oldest at 93 years.
“Air Products maintains a regular dialogue with the investment community as part of our robust shareholder and analyst engagement program,” a company spokesperson said in a statement, declining to comment on specific engagements.Â
Mantle Ridge was launched by Hilal in 2016, and has taken on big companies like railroad business CSX and retailer Dollar Tree. Air Products supplies chemicals and gases primarily to industrial customers, but has in recent years diversified into other businesses.
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