Activist hedge fund builds stake in Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk
Activist hedge fund Parvus Asset Management is building a stake in
Ozempic
-maker
Novo Nordisk
as the drugmaker hunts for a new chief executive following a share price slump.
The London-based hedge fund, which has previously targeted airline Ryanair and gambling group Flutter Entertainment, wants to influence the appointment of Novo Nordisk's new chief, according to people with knowledge of the details. The company employs almost 500 people in Ireland.
Shares in Novo Nordisk have fallen 50 per cent over the past year. A combination of disappointing trial results for its new obesity drug and lower than expected sales figures led investors to conclude that it was losing ground to its US rival Eli Lilly in the weight-loss market.
Last month, it announced that chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen would be stepping down earlier than planned, although he remains in post until a successor is found. Although it is no longer Europe's largest listed company, Novo Nordisk still has a market capitalisation of $334bn.
READ MORE
Parvus did not disclose the size of its stake in Novo Nordisk and, under Danish securities rules, does not need to if it owns less than 5 per cent of the company. The activist has total shareholdings of £5.2bn, according to Bloomberg data.
Novo Nordisk, Parvus and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the drugmaker's largest shareholder, declined to comment.
How to manage your pension in these volatile times
Listen |
37:00
The Novo Nordisk Foundation holds the majority of voting rights in the company, making it harder for an activist to influence its plans. The foundation's chair, Lars Rebien Sørensen, who previously ran the drugmaker, has joined the board as an observer, as part of the process of finding a successor.
Novo Nordisk cut its sales and profit forecasts last month, blaming the rapid expansion of replica obesity drugs in the US. These cheaper alternatives were temporarily allowed when there were shortages but have cut into the market share of branded versions.
Activist investors have previously applied pressure to companies even where their shareholdings have been small: US activist investors Starboard Value and Irenic Capital, for example, waged a multiyear campaign against Wall Street Journal parent company News Corp despite the Murdoch family having priority shareholdings.
Parvus was co-founded in 2004 by former Merrill Lynch fund manager Edoardo Mercadante. It made a name for itself by successfully opposing UK bookmaker William Hill's proposed merger with rival gambling group Amaya and UK security group G4S's £5.2 billion (€6 billion) takeover bid for Danish facilities management company ISS.
Alongside Flutter and Ryanair, it has also previously built positions in Italian bank UniCredit, French hotel group Accor and Ipsen, another Danish drugmaker. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Baker who alleged he was subjected to racial slur in Polish wins €4,000
A baker has won €4,000 over being subjected to a racial slur in Polish by a colleague nearly six years ago. The award was made in a set of rulings published on Monday regarding a workplace dispute that arose in the spring of 2019. The worker, a black French man, alleged he was being bullied by predominantly Polish colleagues at an unidentified food and drinks company 'because he does not speak Polish'. The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) rejected various complaints of his alleging discrimination in breach of the Employment Equality Act 1998 on the grounds of race and disability. However, it found against the employer in respect of the racial slur incident in June 2019. READ MORE The worker gave evidence at a series of adjudication hearings, saying he 'felt threatened and isolated at work' during a period in early 2019 and felt he was suffering discrimination because he was 'black and did not speak Polish'. The worker said 'nothing was done' after he complained to his bosses in February 2019. The company's position was that it facilitated the worker by changing the start time of his shift and later changing his work location. It had also ordered his Polish colleagues to translate all work-related conversations to English, the tribunal was told. The complainant's further evidence was that after his transfer to the new work location he was subject to 'a particularly offensive and derogatory racial slur which was conveyed to him in Polish' on June 23rd, 2019. The worker who made the remark – which was not recorded in the tribunal's published decisions – left the employment the following day. The worker told the tribunal he 'did not know what it meant' until it was explained to him by a third party some months later, after which he filed his second complaint with the WRC. A head chef who gave evidence on behalf of the employer said 'nobody was subject to racial abuse' and that the workplace has 'zero tolerance' for bullying and harassment. The employer's position was that the complainant 'did not react well' when performance issues were raised with him. 'His response was to claim that he was being discriminated against and racially abused,' the company's representative submitted, adding that the firm had 'gone to great lengths' to support him. Adjudicator Andrew Heavey noted the accusation was 'vehemently denied' in the company's investigation process. However, he accepted the sworn evidence of the worker on the balance of probabilities. He wrote that despite the 'bona fides' and 'significant efforts' made by the employer to support the worker and address his complaints, it was still vicariously liable for the actions of its staff. He found the complainant was 'harassed on the race ground' on or about June 23rd, 2019, and directed the company to pay €4,000 in compensation for the discrimination. He rejected all other claims by the worker under the Employment Equality Act. Mr Heavey anonymised his decisions on the basis 'information of a sensitive nature relating to the complainant', which he believes 'deserves privacy'. He noted that when he held his final hearing into the claims last November, the complainant remained an employee of the firm and there had been 'no further issues'.
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
TFI bus fare changes: See how journey prices will change in your area
Sweeping changes to bus fares will take effect from Monday for Bus Éireann and Go-Ahead Ireland services in Dublin and surrounding areas. The changes, which are part of a new Transport For Ireland (TFI) zonal structure, will result in some fares decreasing, some increasing and some remaining unchanged. New daily, weekly and monthly offerings for Leap card customers, based on zones, are also being rolled out. These cover journeys within a radius of some 50km from Dublin city centre. The price changes are being brought in as part of the National Transport Authority's (NTA) latest 'fares determination' plan, which it said would allow fares to be determined 'on a more equitable and easy-to-understand basis'. Bus and rail fares did not align with each other under the previous system but they will be 'fairer and more consistent' under this new 'single structure', TFI says. READ MORE The bus fare changes follow an overhaul of rail fares in the capital and beyond in early May and the introduction of a new zonal structure, which breaks the city and commuter areas as far as Kildare Town, Rathdrum and Navan into four based on proximity to the city centre. The 'TFI 90-minute fare' for journeys under an hour and a half within the new zone 1 – covering areas within a 23km radius of central Dublin – stays at €2 for adults, €1 for young adults/students and €0.65 for children with Leap cards. For Dublin commuter bus services operated by Bus Éireann and Go-Ahead, which are not eligible for the 90-minute fare, the fare for zone 1 travel will be €2.40 for adults and €1.20 for young adults, students and children using Leap cards. The NTA says payment by Leap card offers the best available value for commuters. New bus fares will be introduced from Monday, with prices tied to four commuter zones extending from Dublin city centre to neighbouring counties. Graphic: Paul Scott/ TFI The daily zone 1 fare cap will be €6 for adults, €3 for young adults/students and €1.95 for child Leap cards. The weekly cap will be €24 for adults, €12 for young adults/students and €7.80 for child Leap cards. Zone 1 has monthly tickets, priced at €96 per adult and €48 per young adult/child for all Leap card holders. Annual tickets, priced at €960, are available for adult Leap card customers. Zone 2 covers areas including Blessington, Gormanston, Skerries, Kilcock, Sallins and Naas, Greystones and Kilcoole. From next week, Leap card adult single bus fares in zone 2 will cost €3.70, while young adult/student/child card holders will pay €1.85. Zone 3 covers areas including Trim, Drogheda, Enfield, Newbridge and Wicklow Town. Here, adult bus fares will cost €5.30, while young adult/student/child card holders will pay €2.65. There will be an increase on the single Leap fare from Newtownmountkennedy to Dublin from €2.80 to €3.70. Meanwhile, the adult fare from Wicklow Town to Dublin is set to decrease from €6.16 to €5.30. There is no change to fares on bus services in Wicklow that are part of the Dublin city bus network, such as the L1, L2, L3, L14, L15, 45, 45a, X1 and X2. Zone 4 includes areas such as Navan, Kildare Town and Rathdrum. Adult bus fares in this zone are priced at €3.70 under the new plan, while young adult, student and child card holders will pay €3.15. The fare revisions will take effect on bus services in Kildare, including the 120, 125 and 126, and on bus services in Meath including the 101/X, 103/X, 105/X, 107, 108, 109/A/B/X, 111/A and NX. The new adult Leap fare from Amiens Stre to Newbridge is decreasing from €6.16 to €5.30. The fare for the journey from Newbridge to UCD is also dropping, from €6.16 to €5.30. However, Leap customers travelling from Edenderry to Dublin city centre will see an increase from €7.35 to €8.10. Fares on services operating in Kildare as part of the Dublin city bus network to Leixlip, Celbridge and Maynooth will not change. This includes the C1, C2, C3, C4, W6, L58, L59 and 52. There will be an increase on the single Leap fare from Navan to Dublin from €5.60 to €6.30 and from €7.70 to €8.10 for Athboy. The single Leap fare from Ashbourne to Dublin is to decrease from €3.36 to €2.40, while the fare from Ratoath drops from €3.64 to €2.40. The fare from Dunshaughlin is to fall from €4.06 to €3.70. Customers from Trim will also see their fare reduce from €7.35 to €5.30. For the first time, Leap products will cover travel on town bus services in Balbriggan, Drogheda and Navan.
Irish Times
3 hours ago
- Irish Times
Tough decisions to tackle housing crisis are under way – but will they work?
The expected move to ease rent caps is part of a Government response to the worsening housing crisis which will see further policy changes announced in the coming weeks, before a revised plan for housing is finalised in July. Government insiders hope that the departures will show them finally getting to grips with the housing crisis. But it would be an exaggeration to say there is confidence that all this will work quickly to increase housing supply. Meanwhile, opposition to the rent cap changes is growing and will be heard both in the Dáil tomorrow and on the streets next week when Raise the Roof, an umbrella group co-ordinated by the trade unions and including NGOs and Opposition parties, holds a major protest outside Leinster House. The housing measures include some already announced and some yet to come. There will be changes in planning regulations to allow small residences in back gardens, extensions and attic conversion s without planning permission; potentially also changes in regulations on apartment construction; the role of the Land Development Agency will be expanded to include mixed-use developments with private sector partners; the appointment of a 'housing tsar' ( just don't call it that ) is also coming; commencing the changes in last year's mammoth planning Act will make it harder to block planning permissions; and money will be provided for new planners in local authorities and An Bord Pleanála to speed up the planning process. READ MORE [ Explainer: Garden rooms and attics – What are the proposed changes to regulations? Opens in new window ] Divisions remain in Government over the possibility of tax incentives for builders and developers of certain types of housing, and they are unlikely to be settled until the budget. But at the top level of Government, there is a growing sense that urgent action is needed on housing, with one insider insisting that the series of decisions now under way will place housing at the very centre of the Government's priorities from now until the summer recess in mid-July. However, there is also an awareness that some measures to increase supply will leave the Coalition open to political attack and public unpopularity. [ Proposed changes to rent rules will incentivise evictions, housing charity warns Opens in new window ] And the problem for the Government is that the unpopularity and the political attacks will be immediate – but any potential payback from the measures in the shape of increased supply is at best years away, and may not even be felt until after the next general election. Even without the planning delays and legal actions that they have to factor into their considerations, builders and developers say it can still take three to four years to deliver a block of apartments. There is no doubt the measures will be welcomed by developers and landlords. But that is not necessarily the same thing as prompting them to move quickly to increase supply. Many will want to see if tax incentives are introduced in the budget; others will want to see if the Government has the political will to resist the pressure already building on the rent pressure zone changes. 'Look, the reality is there is no silver bullet,' says one senior Government source. But, the source says, we need apartments, and the people who build apartments are not building them right now because of the rent caps. [ Rules for renters: What are the planned reforms and will they work? Opens in new window ] All very well, but the simple and logical outcome of changing the rent cap rules is that rents will go up – that's why the landlords and the developers are in favour of it. The Government says that its package will protect renters – but among groups working at the coalface of homelessness, there is little confidence in that. An uptick in evictions and rising rents – both predicted by Opposition parties – would pile enormous pressure on the Government. Within Government, there is an undoubted willingness to take difficult decisions, and an awareness that the time to take them is in the first year of its term of office. But that is not matched by any great confidence that the measures will work. [ Ireland's housing crisis: Why is there such a shortage of homes to buy and rent here? Opens in new window ]
