(Bloomberg) -- Activist investor Cevian Capital AB disclosed a 5% stake in Smith & Nephew Plc and will push for improvements at the UK-based maker of knee and hip replacements.

Smith & Nephew has not generated shareholder value for many years, said Friederike Helfer, a partner at the Swedish fund. “Cevian sees the potential to create significant long-term value by improving the operating performance of the company’s businesses,” she said in a statement.

A spokesperson for Smith & Nephew acknowledged the disclosure and said the company will continue to engage with Cevian, as it does with all its shareholders. 

Smith & Nephew shares rose as much as 7.3% in early trading in London on Thursday, giving the company a market value of £9.2 billion ($11.7 billion). That values Cevian’s stake at £460 million. The stock is broadly flat over the past year.

The disclosure comes after Cevian said changes in listing locations will be a big part of its investment and restructuring campaigns in the coming years. The investor, which counts billionaire financier Carl Icahn as a backer, is one of the biggest shareholders in Dublin-based building materials company CRH Plc, which moved its primary listing to New York from London last year. 

Cevian also holds minority stakes in European companies such as ABB Ltd., Ericsson AB, SKF AB and Pearson Plc. 

Smith & Nephew in May was hit with a shareholder revolt over pay when investors owning 43% of its shares voted against the company’s remuneration policy.

First-quarter revenue at the orthopedics and wound-treatment specialist rose 3%, and the firm kept its full-year guidance of sales growth of between 5% and 6% unchanged. It’s currently employing a turnaround strategy to boost its orthopedics business and other divisions, and improve productivity.

--With assistance from Ashleigh Furlong.

(Updates with Smith & Nephew comment in third paragraph.)

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