ACTIVIST hedge fund Trian Partners has reportedly taken a stake in Unilever as investors continue to pile pressure on beleaguered boss Alan Jope, following the Marmite-maker's failed takeover bids for GLAXOSMITHKLINE's consumer arm last year.

The $8.5bn (£6.2bn) New-York based hedge fund, led by billionaire investor Nelson Peltz, has built an undisclosed stake in the firm, the Financial Times reported citing sources close to the matter. The stake in Unilever follows a series of major consumer goods investment for Trian with previous targets including Mondelez International and Procter & Gamble (P&G).

Trian leveraged a $3.5bn stake in P&G to appoint Peltz to the board, where he successfully pushed for reorganisation of the firm's "suffocating bureaucracy" and oversaw a rise in shares of around 85 per cent, according to the Financial Times . Reports of Trian's stake add to the woes of Unilever boss Alan Jope as he battles an investor exodus and a barrage of criticism following reports emerging of Unilever's takeover bids.

Shares in Unilever plunged beyond 10 per cent last week after the bids were revealed by The Sunday Times, and bosses were forced to release a strategy update last week to justify the move.

Unilever shares rallied after the firm backed down on raising its bid beyond £50bn on Wednesday.

Star stockpicker and Unilever shareholder Terry Smith rounded on Unilever management for the second time in two weeks as he attacked the board for the rebuffed bids for GSK's consumer business. In a letter to investors in his Fundsmith fund last week, he wrote: "It seems to us that Unilever's management's response to its poor performance has been to utter meaningless platitudes to which it has now attempted to add major M&A activity."

Smith, whose firm owns an £814m position in the FTSE0-100 Unilever, attacked the firm the week before for its focus on sustainability.

A group of leading asset managers separately criticised Unilever last week for having a health "blind spot"and called for more ambitious health targets.

(c) 2022 City A.M., source Newspaper