Activist investor Elliott builds Air Liquide stake, pushes for changes, sources say

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a stake in Paris-based Air Liquide and is urging the French multinational company to improve its margins, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Elliott has been engaging with the company for months and is urging management to make improvements to better compete with rivals in the industrial gases sector, the sources said. The exact size of Elliott's stake could not be immediately learned.

Elliott declined to comment, while Air Liquide did not respond to a request for comment.

Air Liquide has a market value of roughly €108 billion ($125.5 billion) and has two main competitors, Linde and Air Products and Chemicals.

Analysts say the margin gap between Air Liquide and Linde, which has a market value of $225 billion, has increased in recent years, suggesting that Linde's operational optimization plan has been successful while Air Liquide's leaves room for improvement.

 As of mid-year 2026, Linde's operating margins were 30%, compared with Air Liquide's 21%, according to LSEG data. Analysts said that gap is expected to remain steady for several years. This would give Air Liquide management room to make improvements, industry analysts have said.

Linde repurchased $4.6 billion in shares in 2025. Air Liquide authorized buybacks last year but executed them in late February to early March of 2026, according to company filings, coming to €167 million ($193 million).

Air Liquide has an investor day scheduled for early October, and investors have said they hope management will reveal plans to improve margins and detail additional share buybacks.

Air Liquide also has an electronics division which provides gases to make AI chips, something some investors have called a growth engine hidden within the industrial gases business due to the ongoing AI infrastructure buildout.

Elliott, one of the world's biggest activist investors, has recently pushed for changes at the London Stock Exchange Group and chip design software giant Synopsys.

(€1 = $1.16)

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by David Gregorio)