D.E. Shaw calls for Air Products' board overhaul, limits on capex
Oct 10 (Reuters) -U.S. investor D.E. Shaw has called for changes at Air Products and Chemicals, including a clear CEO succession plan, to address the underperformance in shares and deficiencies in governance and capital allocation policies at the industrial gas maker.
D.E. Shaw, which has more than $60 billion in investment capital, holds a "significant economic position" in Air Products APD.N, according to its letter to the company on Thursday.
The investor group also proposed that the company should de-risk existing large projects by signing offtake agreements and limit annual capex to $2 billion to $2.5 billion beyond 2026.
Shares of Air Products have risen more than 15% so far this year.
However, D.E. Shaw said Air Products' total shareholder return has significantly lagged relevant peers over numerous time horizons, including underperforming its industrial gas peers Linde LIN.O and Air Liquide AIRP.PA over the last five years.
The investor group has also called for a need to refresh the company's board.
Air Products CEO Seifi Ghasemi, 80, ranks among the oldest chief executives at S&P 500 companies and has indicated he would like to stay on.
In a separate letter to the company in September, D.E. Shaw had noted that "the company's clean hydrogen strategy led to the destruction of roughly $15 billion of equity value within the core industrial gas business."
Air Products did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Earlier this month, activist investor Mantle Ridge had also said it wanted the industrial gas manufacturer to cut costs, focus on its core businesses and pave the path for a new leader.
Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar
免责声明: XM Group仅提供在线交易平台的执行服务和访问权限，并允许个人查看和/或使用网站或网站所提供的内容，但无意进行任何更改或扩展，也不会更改或扩展其服务和访问权限。所有访问和使用权限，将受下列条款与条例约束：(i) 条款与条例；(ii) 风险提示；以及(iii) 完整免责声明。请注意，网站所提供的所有讯息，仅限一般资讯用途。此外，XM所有在线交易平台的内容并不构成，也不能被用于任何未经授权的金融市场交易邀约和/或邀请。金融市场交易对于您的投资资本含有重大风险。
所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。
本网站上由XM和第三方供应商所提供的所有内容，包括意见、新闻、研究、分析、价格、其他资讯和第三方网站链接，皆保持不变，并作为一般市场评论所提供，而非投资性建议。所有在线交易平台所发布的资料，仅适用于教育/资讯类用途，不包含也不应被视为适用于金融、投资税或交易相关咨询和建议，或是交易价格纪录，或是任何金融商品或非应邀途径的金融相关优惠的交易邀约或邀请。请确保您已阅读并完全理解，XM非独立投资研究提示和风险提示相关资讯，更多详情请点击 这里。
