Activist hedge fund Engine Capital has taken a roughly 3% stake in life-sciences company Avantor and is poised to press for significant changes, including the possibility of a sale, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal citing sources familiar with the matter.
Avantor, which supplies lab equipment and consumables to the life-sciences sector, currently trades around $11.50 per share, down nearly 50% year-to-date, with a market capitalisation of approximately $7.8bn. Engine Capital values the company between $17 and $19 per share if sold outright but believes that with the right operational and strategic initiatives – such as a board refresh, enhanced share repurchases, cost reductions, or divestitures of non-core assets—shares could reach as high as $26 by the end of 2027.
The investment firm is expected to formally disclose its stake imminently and is advocating for either a sale or a comprehensive restructuring to unlock shareholder value. Avantor’s recent challenges include weakened demand in government and education sectors due to research funding cuts, compounded by CEO turnover earlier this year.
Avantor went public in 2019 following private equity ownership under New Mountain Capital. Engine Capital, founded by Arnaud Ajdler in 2013, is known for activist campaigns, including a proxy battle at Lyft earlier this year which was withdrawn after a share buyback agreement.
