Carl Icahn Takes Stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb -- Sources
February 21 2017 - 04:19PM
Dow Jones News
By David Benoit
Carl Icahn has taken a stake in Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., making
him the second big activist to pressure the company following
disappointment in its cancer-treatment efforts.
Mr. Icahn owns a large stake and believes the New York drug
giant has a good pipeline that would help make it an attractive
takeover target, people familiar with the matter said. It isn't
clear how big the stake is.
On Tuesday, Bristol-Myers announced it would add three directors
to its board and buy back $2 billion in stock in a pact with
another activist, Jana Partners LLC.
Jana took a stake last year and began pushing for board changes
after Bristol-Myers announced in January that a lung-cancer
treatment wouldn't get approval as fast as hoped, according to a
person familiar with the matter. That warning increased investor
fears Bristol-Myers would lose out to rivals in a crucial treatment
sphere and contributed to a roughly 30% decline in the stock since
July. The shares had fallen by nearly 2% Tuesday afternoon to
$53.55 following news of the settlement with Jana. The drug
company's market value now stands at about $90 billion.
Mr. Icahn has a history of successfully pushing for deals among
pharmaceutical companies, and his presence on Bristol-Myers'
shareholder register will likely add to recent speculation that a
bidder could swoop in following the stock decline. Such a
possibility has helped boost Bristol-Myers shares somewhat since
January.
Write to David Benoit at david.benoit@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 21, 2017 16:04 ET (21:04 GMT)
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