Shares in the Dutch retail group Royal Ahold NV rose sharply this morning (12 June) on the back of weekend newspaper reports that a group of hedge funds is increasing its stake in the company with a view to breaking it up.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
Ahold shares were up by 4.31% to EUR6.53 (US$8.23) in early trading.
The reports regarding a possible break-up of Ahold appeared in the newspaper The Business at the weekend. The paper said that the group of hedge funds was led by Centaurus, which now has around a 4% stake in the retailer,
Rabo Securities analysts Patrick Roquas and Karel Zoete said the news would increase pressure on Ahold’s management to improve results, divest of non-core activities and at least investigate the possibility of breaking the company up.
The break-up of Ahold has been mooted before without being pursued further, but Delta Lloyd Securities analyst Pascale Nachtergaele said he does not “discount the possibility of it actually happening this time”.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData
