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Dan Loeb’s Third Point Capital has built a stake in Tylenol and Neutrogena maker Kenvue, becoming the third activist hedge fund to target the $43bn consumer health group in recent months, said people familiar with the matter.
Third Point’s position in Kenvue may add pressure on the company’s management, which has increasingly been viewed as a takeover target after it was spun out of healthcare group Johnson & Johnson in 2023.
In March, Kenvue named Jeff Smith, chief executive of activist investor Starboard Value, to its board alongside two other directors, averting a possible proxy fight. But since then, rival activist investor Toms Capital Investment Management has also amassed a stake, pushing for a sale or break-up of the company, said other people familiar with the matter.
The size of Third Point’s stake and the extent to which the hedge fund has engaged with Kenvue could not immediately be established. Third Point and Toms declined to comment.
Kenvue on Friday refused to comment on individual shareholder discussions and said it was committed to acting in the best interests of the company, adding: “We remain focused on accelerating sustainable, profitable growth and enhancing shareholder value.”
Kenvue’s brands include mouth wash Listerine, smoking cessation product Nicorette and skincare product Johnson’s Baby. The company’s skincare business has been shrinking as it faces stiff competition from independent brands tailored to younger consumers. Kenvue’s net sales totalled $15.5bn this year, flat with last year.
Shares in Kenvue stood at $22.65 on Friday and are up 6 per cent this year, but practically unchanged from the company’s listing price when it separated from J&J.
Third Point, which has targeted corporations including Walt Disney and Shell in recent years, has a history of collaborating with Toms on activist campaigns in the consumer sector. In 2022, both hedge funds built stakes in Colgate-Palmolive and agitated for a sale of its Hill’s Pet Nutrition division.
Third Point, which manages roughly $11.5bn, also followed Starboard into software company Salesforce, which resulted in a brokered peace and a board seat for another activist investor — Mason Morfit, co-chief executive of hedge fund ValueAct Capital.
