Activist investor Elliott Management has become the third-largest shareholder in oil giant BP, with a stake worth nearly £4billion. The New York hedge fund will push it to cut spending on renewables and make big divestments to address its ‘profound’ undervaluation, according to reports. The Financial Times yesterday reported Elliott has built a near-5 per cent stake, worth around £3.8billion. Only BlackRock and Vanguard hold larger stakes, worth 9 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.
BP chief executive Murray Auchincloss this week promised a ‘fundamental reset’ of strategy as BP reported on Tuesday that profits last year fell to the lowest level since the pandemic. Auchincloss is facing mounting pressure to abandon BP’s strategy of focusing on renewables. Elliott reportedly wants BP to limit spending on renewables and sell a significant proportion of its green assets – and could push for chairman Helge Lund to quit.
