Activist investor Elliott Investment Management stated in a letter addressed to Honeywell’s Board of Directors that it wants Honeywell International Inc. to spin-off its Aerospace Technologies business.

Honeywell does not seem to have got the memo that conglomerates have become achingly unfashionable. At a time when the global trend is for industrial empires to break up and generate returns by specialising in a single area of business, boss Vimal Kapur has been bulking up.

The push comes as new Honeywell CEO Vimal Kapur has led an aggressive repositioning with mergers, acquisitions and spinoffs.

As Honeywell’s largest active investor, Elliott Investment Management’s letter to Honeywell International argued that Honeywell should split into two entities—Honeywell Aerospace and Honeywell Automation.

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a $5 billion-plus position in industrials giant Honeywell International Inc., according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The push comes as new Honeywell CEO Vimal Kapur has led an aggressive repositioning with mergers, acquisitions and spinoffs.

It argues that separating Honeywell would lead to simplified strategies, focused management, enhanced capital allocation and better operational performance.