Franklin Mutual Advisers Sends Second Letter Urging Elementis' Board of Directors to Maximize Shareholder Value

LONDON, Jan. 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC ("Mutual Series"), which controls a 9.8% shareholding on behalf of its clients in specialty chemicals company Elementis PLC, has sent a second public letter to the Chair of the Board of Directors.

You can find the letter here:

January 25, 2024

Mr. John O'Higgins
Chairman of the Board
Elementis PLC
The Bindery
5^th Floor, 51-53 Hatton Garden
London
EC1N 8HN
United Kingdom

Dear Mr. O'Higgins and the Board of Directors,

We are writing to express our dismay at recent media reports that Elementis ("Elementis" or "the Company") has rejected a 160p takeover offer from KPS Capital Partners ("KPS"). In our view, this recent interest from KPS, coupled with prior offers from Minerals Technologies (130p, December 2020) and Innospec (160p, March 2021), again confirm Mutual Series' view that the Company is a desirable acquisition target. We believe this indication of interest should be the catalyst to launch a formal process to maximize shareholder value.

We are deeply concerned that, once again, the Board does not appear to be acting in the best interests of its shareholders. It has been publicly reported that other significant investors share our views. We believe that the leadership team at Elementis is missing a valuable opportunity to maximize the value of the Company. As we indicated in our letter dated September 20, 2023, and are reiterating today, we strongly urge the Board to initiate a sales process immediately, and to engage with all potential buyers to maximize shareholder value. 

Sincerely,

Steve Raineri
Senior Vice President-Portfolio Manager
Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC 

Chris Meeker
Vice President-Portfolio Manager
Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC

Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC, the investment advisor for the Franklin Mutual Series funds, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc., a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton. 

For more information on Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC: www.mutualseries.com

For media enquiries, please contact Greenbrook: [email protected],
Rob White and Tashi Lassalle +44 207 952 2000

SOURCE Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC

LEGAL NOTICE: The information provided here and in the linked letter should not be construed as legal, tax or investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any investment. The views expressed in the letter are those of the signatories and the comments, opinions and analyses are rendered as at the date of the letter and may change without notice. These views may differ from those of other investment staff within Mutual Series or within other investment management teams of Franklin Templeton which operate with independent investment discretion. Franklin Templeton accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss arising from use of this information or reliance upon any comments, opinions or analyses in the letter.