Sachem Head Capital Management, an activist hedge fund firm founded by Scott Ferguson in 2012, has urged US aluminium sheet maker Arconic to execute its plan to sell itself, after acquiring a stake in the business, according to a report by Reuters.

Sachem Head Capital Management, an activist hedge fund firm founded by Scott Ferguson in 2012, has urged US aluminium sheet maker Arconic to execute its plan to sell itself, after acquiring a stake in the business, according to a report by Reuters.

Unnamed Reuters sources say that Arconic has been in talks with private equity firms, including Apollo Global Management Inc, about selling itself, with Apollo so far indicating it is willing to pay $27 to $28 per share for Arconic, according to reports, close to the level the firm's shares are trading at currently.

Arconic's shares are up by more than 20% since the Wall Street Journal reported on 28 February that the Pittsburgh-based firm was working with investment banks on a sale process. Arconic now has a market value of $2.6 billion and had debt as of the end of December of $1.6 billion.

Sachem Head acquired its stake in Arconic in recent weeks, according to Reuters' sources, and has told the company's management that it would be supportive of a sale.