After shirking one activist hedge fund, PDL BioPharma Inc. has attracted the interest of another fund. Highland Capital Management disclosed a 7% stake in the company and issued a letter of its demands to the board recommending that the biotech company replace Merrill Lynch & Co. with a new adviser.
PDL already gave in to the demands of Third Point LLC over the summer when CEO Mark McDade stepped aside and the biotech agreed to go on the block. Following those victories, Third Point cashed out of PDL shares in October.
Now, the new activist is complaining that the company's financial adviser isn't suited for the job of maximizing royalty payments, claiming Merrill Lynch has no experience in such deals. Highland provided a list of other firms that should be contacted including: Farallon Capital Management LLC, HBK Investments LP, QVT Financial LP, Marathon Asset Management LLC, Perry Capital LLC, McDonnell Investment Management LLC, Taconic Capital Advisors LP and Apollo Investment Corp. — Matthew Wurtzel
