If challenging Motorola Inc. wasn't enough for Carl Icahn, the financier has put another iron in the fire. The activist investor's push for a sale of Biogen Idec Inc. last year flamed out after two months, but he hasn't given up. He has filed a lawsuit against the firm in the Delaware courts to get hold of board meeting minutes and other documents related to the aborted sale, but Biogen isn't budging. A spokeswoman told Reuters, which
first reported the suit Tuesday night, that Icahn's request was made as part of the proxy process: "We don't consider that a proper purpose as defined by the law."
Continue reading below
As Icahn's suit progresses, he will also try to put allies on the Biogen board. The date for its annual shareholder meeting has not yet been announced.
After Icahn revealed a small stake in Biogen last year, the firm spent two months on the block, with Icahn himself trying to set a floor for bidding at $23 billion. There were no takers. After the end of the process, Icahn claimed the company put up too many obstacles for serious bidders to talk to the companies that share rights to Biogen's main products, a charge refuted by company officials. Those shared rights are a major complication to any potential sale: The cancer fighter Rituxan is majority owned by Genentech Inc., and the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri is co-owned by Elan Corp. plc. Tysabri also faces safety questions that could slow its adoption by doctors and patients.
His last biotech-related proxy fight ended with Icahn at the helm of ImClone Systems Inc. in late 2006, where he remains chairman. - Alex Lash
See story from Reuters
See earlier story from TheDeal.com
See related story about ImClone from TheDeal.com
See Dealwatch: Carl Icahn
