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

NEW YORK, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a stake in 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.

Air Liquide is based in Paris and has a market value of roughly  €108 billion.

The size of Elliott's stake could not be learned.

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

Air Liquide's competitors include Linde and Air Products and Chemicals. The margin gap between Air Liquide and Linde has increased over the last years, suggesting that Linde's operational optimization plan has been very successful, industry analysts said. The margin gap today is 9 points, analysts said, adding that it is expected to remain at that level for some time.

Air Liquide has an analyst meeting coming up later this year and industry analysts have wondered whether the company may announce share buybacks, something that could help the company.

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