Glaxo shares jump after activist hedge fund builds big stake

Shares in GlaxoSmithKline surged on reports that hedge fund activist Elliott Management has built up a multi-billion pound stake in the FTSE 100 company. The New York-based activist investor has a long history of building up minority stakes in businesses it regards as possible takeover targets and putting pressure on management to pursue certain strategies. The size of Elliott's GSK stake, which was first reported by the Financial Times, has not been disclosed. The biggest shareholder in GSK is BlackRock with a 6pc stake. Shares jumped almost 5pc to £13.49 in afternoon trading in London, valuing the company at close to £68bn. GSK has lagged its pharmaceutical rivals in recent years with the share price falling by almost a third since January 2020. The stock has declined by 14pc since Dame Emma Walmsley became chief executive in April 2017. Shortly after her appointment she implemented significant changes and decided to spin off its consumer health division into a separately listed company.