Activist investor Starboard builds stake in Solstice, urges focus on core business, FT reports

Honeywell International

Tue 02:57

Oct 19 (Reuters) - Activist investor Starboard Value has built a stake in Solstice Advanced Materials SOLS.O and is pushing the Honeywell spin-off to take steps to lift its share price, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. 
Starboard wants US speciality chemicals group Solstice to focus on execution in its core refrigerants and nuclear businesses and cut roughly $100 million in corporate overhead, the report said 
Starboard CEO Jeff Smith is expected to unveil the investment on Tuesday at the 13D Monitor Active-Passive Investor Summit, the report said
Solstice and Starboard could not immediately be reached for comment outside regular business hours
Solstice, which was spun off from Honeywell HON.O last year, makes specialty chemicals and materials used in industries, including semiconductor, refrigeration, nuclear power and healthcare
The report comes months after Solstice and Element Solutions  scrapped their proposed $14.5 billion merger, citing shareholder feedback supporting the companies' standalone strategies
Solstice shares nearly doubled in the months following its spin-off last October, but have since retreated sharply after the collapse of its proposed merger with Element Solutions, falling about 33% from a peak reached in May
The stock is still up about 25% this year, valuing the company at $9.6 billion as of Monday's close

 (Reporting by Devika Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
 ((Devika.MadhusudhananNair@thomsonreuters.com))