Unilever steady after chilly few weeks

Elliot Gulliver-Needham
clock • 4 min read

Unilever has faced a tumultuous few weeks as news of its failed £50bn bid to buy GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer health unit came to light along with job cuts, scathing remarks from star fund managers and an activist investor taking a position.

The proposed deal, which would have been one of the largest ever on the London market, sank Unilever stock by 11%, before recovering in the days after.  The company has seen a 30% drop in its share price since its highs in late 2019. "Investor pushback has predominantly focused on the strength of Unilever's balance sheet, with the firm already subject to a substantial debt pile," explained Nick Edwards, fund manager of the Guinness European Equity Income fund.  Indeed, the GSK deal would have added to the debt pile as it would have been financed with 80% debt and 20% equity. Chr...

To continue reading this article...

Join Investment Week for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
  • Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
  • Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
  • Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
  • Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes

Join now

 

Already an Investment Week
member?

Login

More on Investment

Partner Insight: What You Should Know About Quant Investing

Partner Insight: What You Should Know About Quant Investing

Federated Hermes
clock 07 July 2025 • 4 min read
7IM's Ben Kumar: When behavioural biases are not all they seem

7IM's Ben Kumar: When behavioural biases are not all they seem

Investment identity more important

Ben Kumar
clock 02 July 2025 • 3 min read
Aegon AM launches UK-domiciled global income fund

Aegon AM launches UK-domiciled global income fund

In response to client demand

clock 27 June 2025 • 1 min read
Trustpilot