A report made the rounds last week that activist investor Nelson Peltz and his Trian Fund Management had bought a stake in DuPont.
DuPont shares rose to a 13-year high and the speculation made for good talk around the water cooler.
Peltz wouldn’t talk about DuPont in an interview with CNBC, which had run with the report.
The news led to a lot of speculation on whether Peltz would press for a break-up of the company in an effort to boost its stock price. Peltz could also believe the stock is underpriced.
DuPont, under CEO Ellen Kullman, has been given high marks for its strategy of investing in fast-growing product lines and finding new uses for mainstays like Kevlar.
It is also not afraid to shed legacy businesses like the automotive paint unit which went for $4.9 billion to the Carlyle Group. The business has been renamed Axalta and is based in Wilmington.
Another big plus is the company’s DuPont Pioneer seed unit that is tapping into a strong agribusiness market.
Peltz is not known as a patient investor. He invested in ketchup-maker Heinz and pushed for changes at the company, which was later snapped up by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. As Fortune noted in a recent story, his firm rolls out white papers suggesting changes at his investments.
For now, DuPont will watch for regulatory filings that would pop up if Peltz does buy up a 5% stake and perhaps see a white paper.
