Latest news with #EngineCapital
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Avantor (AVTR) in the Hot Seat as Activist Investor Presses for Big Changes or Sale
U.S.-based biotechnology company Avantor (AVTR) is under pressure as activist investor Engine Capital pushes for major changes. According to the Wall Street Journal, Engine Capital is expected to disclose its roughly 3% stake in Avantor on Monday. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. For context, Avantor is a life sciences company that supplies products and services for research, biopharma manufacturing, and healthcare. Activist Investor Calls for Overhaul or Sale According to market reports, Engine Capital plans to pressure Avantor to either sell the company or make changes such as refreshing its board, buying back shares, and selling non-core assets. The investment firm estimates Avantor could fetch $17–$19 per share, compared to Friday's closing price of $11.50. The firm also believes Avantor's shares could reach up to $26 by the end of 2027 if the company implements the recommended changes on its own. Avantor Struggles Amid Slowing Demand Avantor is struggling with weaker demand from reduced government funding in research and education under the Trump administration. Last week, the company reported mixed Q2 2025 results. Avantor reported net sales of $1.68 billion, down 1% from last year, with FX gains offset by M&A-related declines, leaving organic revenue flat. Year-to-date, AVTR stock has fallen more than 45%. This steep decline has set the stage for activist intervention. Notably, Engine Capital's push could boost shareholder value through a premium takeover or major strategic changes. Is Avantor a Good Stock to Buy? According to TipRanks, AVTR stock has received a Moderate Buy consensus rating based on eight Buys and 10 Holds assigned in the last three months. The average Avantor stock price target is $14.70, suggesting a potential upside of 28% from the current level.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Avantor® Reiterates Shareholder Value Creation Focus
Emmanuel Ligner, Seasoned Leader with Proven Track Record of Value Creation in Life Sciences, to Begin Role as CEO Next Week RADNOR, Pa., Aug. 11, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Avantor, Inc. (NYSE: AVTR), a leading global provider of mission-critical products and services to customers in the life sciences and advanced technology industries, today issued the following statement in response to the letter issued by Engine Capital: The Board of Directors is actively engaged in overseeing the setting and execution of the Company's strategy and is committed to always acting in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. As such, we regularly review the Company's strategic priorities with an eye towards driving growth, expanding margins, and creating sustained shareholder value. Avantor is uniquely positioned for success based on the breadth of our portfolio to address the research and production environment, our global distribution platform, and our long-standing customer relationships across the life sciences industry. We are acting with urgency to strengthen growth and profitability in both Laboratory Solutions and Bioscience Production. Over the past 18 months, the Board has overseen the change to a new Chief Executive Officer and a new leader in Lab Solutions, the successful launch of a $400 million cost transformation program, increased transparency and accountability through the resegmentation of the business, and continued portfolio optimization. Further, the Board has overseen a focused capital allocation strategy to reduce leverage by nearly $1.5 billion over the past 18 months. We are confident in our ability to accelerate execution of our value creation initiatives under the leadership of Emmanuel Ligner, who will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer on August 18, 2025. We look forward to an ongoing dialogue with all our shareholders, including Engine Capital. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Gordon Dyal & Co. are serving as Avantor's financial advisors and Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel. Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher is serving as strategic communications advisor. About Avantor Avantor® is a leading life science tools company and global provider of mission-critical products and services to the life sciences and advanced technology industries. We work side-by-side with customers at every step of the scientific journey to enable breakthroughs in medicine, healthcare, and technology. Our portfolio is used in virtually every stage of the most important research, development and production activities at more than 300,000 customer locations in 180 countries. For more information, visit and find us on LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and Facebook. Forward-Looking and Cautionary StatementsThis press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created thereby under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements discuss our current expectations and projections relating to our financial condition, results of operations, plans, including our cost transformation initiative, objectives, future performance and business. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words "aim," "anticipate," "assumption," "believe," "continue," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "intend," "likely," "long-term," "near-term," "objective," "opportunity," "outlook," "plan," "potential," "project," "projection," "prospects," "seek," "target," "trend," "can," "could," "may," "should," "would," "will," the negatives thereof and other words and terms of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions; they are not guarantees of performance. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Although we believe that our assumptions made in connection with the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot assure you that the assumptions and expectations will prove to be correct. Factors that could contribute to these risks, uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, the factors described in "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, as such risk factors may be updated from time to time in our periodic filings with the SEC. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. In addition, all forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. We undertake no obligations to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise other than as required under the federal securities laws. Investor Relations ContactAllison HosakSenior Vice President, Global Media ContactEric Van ZantenHead of External Joe Sala / Melissa JohnsonJoele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher(212) 355-4449jsala@ or mjohnson@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Avantor and Financial News Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Activist investor Engine Capital urges Avantor to refresh board with new directors
(Reuters) -Activist investor Engine Capital has urged medical equipment maker Avantor to refresh its board with new directors, a letter on Monday showed. Shares of Avantor rose 10.4% in premarketing trading. Engine Capital owns about 3% of the outstanding shares of Avantor. The activist investor highlighted the company's challenges over the last five years, including repeated cuts to the company's financial forecasts and consistent underperformance versus investor expectations, according to the letter. "We believe the board is responsible for Avantor's underperformance and has, in our opinion, failed to adequately oversee the company's operations, management, capital allocation and succession planning," Engine Capital said in the letter. Avantor did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. Sign in to access your portfolio
Reuters
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Activist investor Engine Capital urges Avantor to refresh board with new directors
Aug 11 (Reuters) - Activist investor Engine Capital has urged medical equipment maker Avantor (AVTR.N), opens new tab to refresh its board with new directors, a letter on Monday showed. Shares of Avantor rose 10.4% in premarketing trading. Engine Capital owns about 3% of the outstanding shares of Avantor. The activist investor highlighted the company's challenges over the last five years, including repeated cuts to the company's financial forecasts and consistent underperformance versus investor expectations, according to the letter. "We believe the board is responsible for Avantor's underperformance and has, in our opinion, failed to adequately oversee the company's operations, management, capital allocation and succession planning," Engine Capital said in the letter. Avantor did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Engine Capital builds stake in Avantor, plans to push it to sell itself, WSJ reports
(Reuters) -Activist investor Engine Capital has built a stake in Avantor and plans to push the life-sciences company to sell itself or make other changes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter. Engine could reveal its roughly 3% stake in Avantor on Monday, the newspaper reported, adding that the activist investor thinks the entire company could sell for between $17 and $19 per share. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Avantor and Engine Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours. Avantor has a market value of $7.84 billion, and its shares have fallen by more than 45% this year to about $11.5, as of Friday's close, according to LSEG data. The company said in its first-quarter earnings report in April that it has faced a reduction in demand, particularly in the government and education market, after changes in the government policy. These include the administration blocking funding for a swathe of public-health programs run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Engine thinks Avantor shares could trade as high as $26 by the end of 2027, the WSJ report said. The investment firm believes that Radnor, Pennsylvania-based Avantor should either pursue an immediate sale or implement changes such as cost cuts, divesting non-core assets, board refresh or increasing stock buybacks, according to the report. Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
