The activist investor Elliott has become the third largest shareholder of BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR (BP.US) and plans to push for a large-scale asset disposal.

According to reports, Elliott Management has disclosed that it holds nearly 5% of the shares of BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR (BP.US), valued at approximately 3.8 billion pounds (about 4.75 billion dollars), making it the third largest shareholder of the company. The report states that this activist investor is trying to push the struggling company to cut back on renewable energy spending and conduct a large-scale asset divestment. Currently, only BlackRock, Inc. and Vanguard Group hold more BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR shares than Elliott, with 9% and 5% respectively. The news of Elliott's stake emerged over the weekend. On Tuesday, BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR CEO Murray Auchincloss promised a "fundamental reset" of the company's strategy while announcing yet another disappointing quarterly earnings report. BP p.l.c. Sponsored ADR is set to unveil its strategic plan on February 26th at an investor day, but it is unclear if these plans will meet Elliott's demands. Elliott hopes to see a proactive chairman leading the company's strategic reset with the support of the board of directors.