Dive Brief:
- Pershing Square, which owns 9.7% of Allergan, announced a slate of six directors for the Allergan Board of Directors.
- Pershing is seeking to call a special meeting of Allergan shareholders with the goal of allowing shareholders to address numerous issues, including removal and replacement of six incumbent board members.
- The endgame for this move involves the takeover of Allergan by Valeant. Valeant and Pershing Square are aligned in their goal to facilitate a buyout.
Dive Insight:
Pershing Square claims each of the six newly proposed board members is independent of both the hedge fund and Valeant Pharmaceuticals, which are pursuing the bid for the manufacturer of Botox. According to Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, “Each member of our slate of nominees is an independent skilled leader with relevant domain, industry and/or executive management experience. By supporting this slate, Allergan shareholders can ensure that the interests of shareholders will be well represented on the board of Allergan.”
Allergan, which is fighting the bid, has a decidedly different take on the move. "We believe today’s announcement is a further attempt by co-bidders Pershing Square and Valeant to acquire Allergan at a grossly inadequate price that substantially undervalues the company and creates significant risks and uncertainties for Allergan stockholders,” a company spokesman said.