After a two-year-long proxy battle battle between activist investor Carl C. Icahn and the executives at Biogen that went all the way to the Delaware Chancery Court, Icahn announced yesterday that two of his four board candidates had been elected, according to The New York Times.
Icahn’s proxy solicitors said Icahn Fund Director Alexander J. Denner won a seat on the board “by a wide margin,” and Harvard University’s Richard C. Mulligan won by a smaller margin.
Biogen’s Chairman, Bruce Ross, adjourned the meeting for three hours yesterday in an attempt to win back shareholder support and give them more time to vote. Icahn filed a lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court seeking an “immediate order” to stop Biogen “from taking steps toward seating its director nominees.” Officially, Biogen noted that the results of the vote would not be available until later this month, after all the votes have been counted.
Icahn, who owns about 5.6 percent of the company’s stock, is said to be interested in separating the company in two, with one division to focus on neurology and one on cancer. He has also expressed interest in having another pharmaceutical company buy Biogen.