Activist hedge fund firm Mantle Ridge has acquired a significant stake in Air Products and Chemicals, and is planing to push for strategic changes at the $63bn industrial gas giant including laying the groundwork for new leadership, according to a report by the Wall Street journal.

The reports cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as revealing that Mantle Ridge, which holds over four billion Air Prodcuts shares worth over $1bn, based on Friday’s closing price of $285.50, also wants the company to streamline costs, and concentrate on its core business operations.

News of the New York-based hedge fund's holding prompted a surge of almost 6% in Air Products' stock in after-hours trading. The company’s stock has been relatively stagnant over the past year, in contrast to a nearly 35% rise in the broader S&P 500 index.

Mantle Ridge CEO Paul Hilal has a track record of orchestrating change at Air Products having played a role in a 2013 campaign, while a partners at Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, to bring in current CEO Seifi Ghasemi.

A decade later, 80-year-old Ghasemi is now one of the oldest CEOs in the S&P 500 and Hilal is expected to push for a clear succession plan.