Arconic replaces CEO in slap to hedge fund Elliott Management
Activist hedge fund Elliott Management suffered a setback in its push to sell aluminum company Arconic following an unexpected C-Suite reshuffling that ousted a major Elliott ally, sources told The Post.
The New York aluminum parts company Wednesday announced that its chairman, John Plant, 65, is taking over as chief executive — replacing Elliott ally Charles “Chip” Blankenship, who held the top spot since January 2018.
Arconic quietly voted to fire Blankenship in an effort to protect the troubled company against another proxy contest with Elliott, which launched the fight that booted the company’s previous CEO in 2017, a source said.
“If the board is going to validate a decision not to sell, the board probably would want to fire Chip,” the shareholder said.
“Elliott really liked Chip and thought he was the right person to fix these assets,” said an Arconic analyst who requested anonymity.
Arconic and the $34 billion hedge fund have been at odds ever since the board rejected an Elliott-orchestrated bid to sell Arconic to private equity firm Apollo Global Management last month, sources said.
Plant was also supported by Elliott when he joined the board in 2016. But he was recently the target of a Wall Street prank intended to force Arconic’s board to re-open talks with Apollo — suggesting conflict between Plant and Elliott, which is Arconic’s single biggest shareholder with an 11 percent stake.
As The Post exclusively reported Wednesday, suspected Elliott-backed bankers, including Jefferies, have been handing out Plant’s personal cell number to Arconic shareholders and requesting that they use it to pressure Plant to reopen sales talks.
One shareholder told The Post he suspected Elliott, run by billionaire Paul Singer, was behind the dirty trick.
“To say that was a contributing factor is not a crazy stretch,” an Arconic shareholder said of the reshuffling.
Plant, former CEO of auto parts maker TRW Automotive, is expected to be CEO for a year, Arconic said.
The board also voted to put director Elmer Doty in the role of chief operating officer.
Arconic’s board sent the stock tumbling as much as 21 percent Jan. 22 after it rejected Elliott’s plan to sell the business to Apollo Global Management for $22.20 per share. The deal called for Elliott to buy a construction division that holds liabilities from the Grenfell fire in West London that left 72 people dead.
The $34 billion hedge fund has until Feb. 15 to launch a proxy fight.
Elliott did not return calls and Arconic declined comment.