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Update

Unilever surges on appointing activist investor Peltz to board

Our position in Unilever (ULVR) received a boost yesterday after the consumer goods giant named activist investor, Nelson Peltz as a new board member.

The news comes after Mr Peltz Trian Fund Management disclosed a 1.5% stake in Unilever.

Unilever said it had held “extensive and constructive discussions” with Peltz, who will join as a non-executive director from July.

The market reacted positively to the news – causing Unilever’s share price to gap higher (see gold box on chart below).

It is thought that Mr Peltz will bring some much-needed M&A weight to Unilever’s board following the failed takeover of GlaxoSmithKline’s consumer goods arm earlier this year.

ULVR Daily Candle Chart

Centrica reiterates outlook and confirms sale of Spirit Energy’s Norway assets

Centrica (CNA) released a one-line trading update yesterday, ahead of its AGM…

The update simply said the following:

“The Company’s performance and outlook remain unchanged since the Trading Update issued on 10 May 2022.”

Last week, Centrica announced that all conditions for the sale of Spirit Energy’s Norwegian assets to Sval Energi AS and Spirit Energy’s interests in the Statfjord field to subsidiaries of Equinor ASA for an initial headline consideration of $1.1 billion have now been satisfied, and completion of the transaction is expected to occur on 31 May 2022.

As part of the transaction, originally announced on 8 December 2021, all decommissioning liabilities associated with the assets (approximately £800m) will also transfer to the buyers. The final headline consideration may rise to $1.2 billion dependent on commodity prices.

Spirit Energy will now focus on maximising delivery of its gas production for the UK, repurposing assets for the energy transition and decommissioning activities.

CNA Daily Candle Chart