Engine Capital builds stake in Avantor, plans to push it to sell itself, WSJ reports

(Reuters) -Activist investor Engine Capital has built a stake in Avantor and plans to push the life-sciences company to sell itself or make other changes, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Engine could reveal its roughly 3% stake in Avantor on Monday, the newspaper reported, adding that the activist investor thinks the entire company could sell for between $17 and $19 per share.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. Avantor and Engine Capital did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside regular business hours.

Avantor has a market value of $7.84 billion, and its shares have fallen by more than 45% this year to about $11.5, as of Friday’s close, according to LSEG data.

The company said in its first-quarter earnings report in April that it has faced a reduction in demand, particularly in the government and education market, after changes in the government policy.

These include the administration blocking funding for a swathe of public-health programs run by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Engine thinks Avantor shares could trade as high as $26 by the end of 2027, the WSJ report said.

The investment firm believes that Radnor, Pennsylvania-based Avantor should either pursue an immediate sale or implement changes such as cost cuts, divesting non-core assets, board refresh or increasing stock buybacks, according to the report.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah and Yazhini MV in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang and Subhranshu Sahu)