Elliott builds stake in Air Liquide, holds talks

Elliott Investment Management has taken a stake in Air Liquide and held discussions with the French industrial‑gases group after establishing its position, though the size of the investment and any specific demands have not been disclosed. People familiar with the matter said the hedge fund opened talks in recent weeks.

Air Liquide has a market capitalisation of about €108bn. Elliott, which manages about $80bn, would be the hedge fund’s largest known target on the Euronext exchange if the position is confirmed. Elliott has been active in Europe in recent years, previously taking a 2.5% stake in Pernod Ricard in 2018 and placing recent stakes in BP, the London Stock Exchange Group and German utility RWE.

Air Liquide supplies industrial gases, including oxygen, nitrogen and hydrogen, to heavy industry. Its electronics division is the world’s largest supplier of gases used in semiconductor manufacturing and accounts for roughly 10% of group revenue. That business has grown as customers expand chip production capacity tied to artificial intelligence applications.

Air Liquide’s operating margin at the end of 2025 was about 21%, compared with roughly 30% at U.S. peer Linde. The margin gap widened after Linde’s 2018 merger with Praxair, which enabled a broad restructuring and efficiency programme. Analysts expect the margin differential to persist through 2030. Air Liquide’s shares have risen about 5% so far this year.

Over the past decade Air Liquide returned about €14bn to shareholders through dividends and buybacks, while Linde returned roughly €45bn in the same period. Air Liquide has not run a major share repurchase programme.

Neither Elliott nor Air Liquide has provided public details about the size of the stake or the content of the discussions. The reports come amid a period of increased investor activism in Europe, where hedge funds have pressed large industrial groups for cost reductions, asset sales or higher shareholder payouts.