By Vikram Subhedar and Simon Jessop
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. activist investor Elliott Capital Advisors disclosed on Monday it has taken a 6.8 percent stake in WS Atkins (L:ATKW) after the British engineering and construction consultancy firm agreed to be bought in a C$3.6 billion (£2 billion) deal.
Elliott said in a regulatory filing that it acquired the stake in a contracts-for-difference deal on April 21, the day after Atkins agreed to be acquired by Canadian construction and engineering group SNC Lavalin (TO:SNC).
Shares in Atkins closed on Monday at 2,100 pence, above SNC's offer price of 2,080 pence a share.
After SNC made an indicative offer for Atkins on April 3, Liberum analyst Joe Brent said in a note that the move could spark a bidding war, given growing consolidation in the industry. He declined to comment on Monday.
The stake in Atkins opens up another front in Europe for Elliott, as it presses Dutch-based paintmaker Akzo Nobel (AS:AKZO) to open takeover talks with U.S. suitor PPG Industries (N:PPG), and separately campaigns for a restructuring at Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton (L:BLT) (AX:BHP).
Elliott's stake in Atkins makes it the second-biggest shareholder, Thomson Reuters data showed, just behind asset manager Columbia Threadneedle.
A spokeswoman for Elliott declined to comment on why the firm had taken a stake in Atkins. Spokesmen for Atkins and for SNC also declined to comment.