Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, is understood to have asked officials to assess the potential repercussions and to support Dame Emma Walmsley, above, the company’s chief executiveThe government is concerned about a potential takeover of GlaxoSmithKline in the wake of investment by an American activist hedge fund and has asked officials to monitor the situation. There is uncertainty over GSK’s future after it emerged last month that Elliott Management had acquired a significant multibillion-pound stake in the FTSE 100 pharmaceuticals group. SponsoredElliott, which has a record of agitating for the break-up and sale of big companies, has met other shareholders in GSK and has told them that “change is coming”. The City is speculating over Elliott’s intentions, including whether it will try to engineer a sale of the group or its pharmaceuticals or vaccines businesses, although some investors and analysts think that this is politically challenging and unlikely. Nonetheless, the government

Source: The Times May 21, 2021 23:00 UTC