Sunday, April 20, 2008

Biogen-Idec Faces off Against Icahn

From FierceBiotech and the WSJ:

The war between Biogen Idec and Wall Street raider Carl Icahn is heating up. The Boston-based biotech has rejected Icahn's nominees for the board of directors and is putting up a slate of its own candidates. And a spokesperson says it all comes down to Icahn's tunnel vision on selling the company.

"In the end," she tells the Wall Street Journal, "the board decided that Mr. Icahn's slate is pledged to a single-minded agenda to sell the company. Such a singular focus represents a risk to driving future value that would not be in the interest of all shareholders."

Last fall Biogen Idec put itself up on the auction block, only to step back down after failing to get an offer acceptable to the CEO and the board. Icahn isn't having any of that, though. He's already filed suit over the failed sale and has been hammering Biogen Idec to get back on the sales block.

- read the article in the Wall Street Journal

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