(Reuters) -U.S. hedge fund Engine Capital on Wednesday urged Univar Solutions Inc to consider a sale or other strategic options, days after Germany’s Brenntag SE said it was in preliminary talks to buy the chemicals company.
Engine, which owns about 1% of Univar, said in an open letter that the bid by Brenntag confirms its view that the company is “undervalued” and a “highly attractive acquisition target”.
While Brenntag and Univar did not disclose any financial details from their talks, Engine said a sale price between $38 and $44 per share is achievable if the Univar board runs a competitive sale process.
It urged the company to publicly invite more bids to begin the sale process.
(Reporting by Ruhi Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)