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Elliott opens talks with Air Liquide after building a stake

Air Liquide has returned about €14bn to shareholders over the past decade via dividends and buybacks, far less than Linde’s roughly €45bn, and Elliott may press for changes amid margin lag.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Hedge Funds

Hedgeweek reports that New York hedge fund Elliott has held discussions with Air Liquide in recent weeks after establishing a position in the French industrial-gas supplier.

The report says the hedge fund’s stake size and what changes it might seek from management were not disclosed, but Air Liquide, with a market capitalization of about €108bn, would be Elliott’s most prominent target on Euronext.

Elliott’s activist focus could center on Air Liquide’s weaker profitability versus US rival Linde. Air Liquide’s operating margin was around 21% at the end of 2025, compared with approximately 30% for Linde, a gap analysts expect to persist through 2030.

Capital allocation is another potential area, as Air Liquide has returned around €14bn to shareholders over the past decade and has never undertaken a major share repurchase program. The company also supplies gases to electronics and is described as the world’s largest supplier of gases used in semiconductor manufacturing, with the electronics division accounting for roughly 10% of group revenue.

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