Johnson Matthey wades into US activist campaign row
Johnson Matthey has entered the public spat brewing over an activist campaign from its largest investor, attempting to reassure markets it has been taking concerns over its share price seriously.
In a withering letter yesterday, US industrials investor Standard Investments slammed the chemicals group’s board for a “continued lack of urgency and incapacity” over its poor stock price performance.
The letter from Standard over Johnson Matthey’s “destruction of shareholder value” came after the group launched a campaign last month for a strategic review of the business that could include the sale of part or all of the company.
Standard became the FTSE 250 company’s largest stakeholder in 2023 after nearly doubling its holding to 11 per cent.
Shares in Johnson Matthey have fallen around 54 per cent over the last five years.
After the initial attack from Standard began last month, Johnson Matthey responded privately to the investor on Christmas Eve, but the response was quickly rebutted as “wholly insufficient”.
Today, Johnson Matthey made its first public statement on the activist campaign, stating that its board and management was “resolute in their focus” on improving its lagging share price.
“Johnson Matthey is making progress in a challenging market environment through delivery of a comprehensive transformation strategy,” the company said today.
The firm said it had “had a dialogue” with Standard since it became a shareholder in 2022, and would continue to “act with a strong sense of urgency as we adapt this strategy to the evolving market situation”.
“In its private response to Standard Investments on 24 December, JM stated that it had previously discussed most of the matters in the letter of 16 December with Standard Investments, and that these remain a priority for the board,” the company added.
Johnson Matthey also published the private letter it had sent to Standard on Christmas Eve, which contained details of a planned investment committee to “periodically assess whether alternative options to the status quo are available to maximise value”.