- Activist investor Standard Investments has halved its stake in London-listed Johnson Matthey after a six-month campaign to overhaul the company.
- Based in New York, Standard Investments is the investment arm of Standard Industries, a privately held industrial company that owns the specialty chemicals company W.R. Grace.
- Standard began agitating late last year by publishing an open letter accusing Johnson Matthey’s board of presiding over “sustained underperformance” that had wiped out shareholder value.
Activist investor Standard Investments has halved its stake in London-listed Johnson Matthey after a six-month campaign that forced the British specialty chemicals company into a major overhaul.
Standard’s total holding fell to 4.75% from a previously disclosed 9.52%, regulatory filings showed. The investment firm has sold into a share price rally that has recovered to over £18 ($24.50), up more than 35% from a low of around £13.52 when its public pressure campaign began in December 2024.
Standard Investments’ remaining position consists of a 1.77% holding in direct shares and nearly 3% held through cash-settled equity swaps, the filing showed.
Based in New York, Standard Investments is the investment arm of Standard Industries, a privately held industrial company. The firm derives its credibility in the chemicals sector from its $7 billion takeover of specialty chemicals company W.R. Grace, which it acquired in 2021, part financed by private equity firm Apollo.
Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/10/activist-investor-standard-investments-halves-stake-in-johnson-matthey.html