Biogen Idec delivered a second counterpunch today against Carl Icahn—this time against the billionaire investor’s proposal to split the company into two parts. The company said Icahn’s idea would add administrative costs, make Biogen less attractive to a potential buyer, and “destroy shareholder value.”
The Cambridge, MA-based biotech company (NASDAQ: [[ticker:BIIB]]) offered its latest salvo to shareholders in the escalating proxy war in a filing today with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Icahn got the ball rolling earlier this week when he launched a scathing critique of virtually every important aspect of the company’s business, concluding that it suffers from “failed leadership.” He went so far in that filing to suggest that if his nominees are elected to the Biogen board at the annual shareholder meeting on June 3, they will study whether it’s a good idea to split the company into two entities. One would be focused on cancer drugs, and the other on neurology drugs—to see if that would improve management focus, Icahn said.
Biogen fired back yesterday, but only partially. The company challenged Icahn’s assertion that the R&D pipeline is weak, and offered data to suggest new momentum is building for sales of its multiple sclerosis drug, natalizumab (Tysabri). Today, Biogen offered a detailed response to the idea of the company breakup.
“Icahn’s proposal would destroy shareholder value on multiple fronts,” the company argued in the filing. A split would not make Biogen more attractive as an acquisition target of a larger drugmaker, it would create administrative redundancies, add costs, and eliminate opportunities for drugs that might work in both cancer and neurology, the company said. The smaller companies might also have a harder time borrowing money on favorable terms, the company said.
The real agenda, the company suggested, is that Icahn just wants to make a quick buck
