Elliott Advisors backs Melrose bid for GKN

Activist investor Elliott Advisors is backing the bid by Melrose for the engineering giant GKN, as the clock ticks down to next week’s deadline for investors to decide on the hostile takeover. Elliott, which said it had an economic interest in over 3.4pc of GKN shares, told the management team it did not trust them to deliver the “profound” cultural shift needed to meet new targets while driving through two deals. Shareholders have until 1pm on Thursday to decide whether to accept the cash and paper offer from Melrose.