NVS Novartis AG

FRANKFURT—An activist shareholder on Monday stepped up its pressure on German generic drugmaker Stada Arzneimittel AG, calling on fellow investors to push out the chairman and three other members of the nonexecutive supervisory board.

Active Ownership Capital said it wants to replace Stada Chairman Martin Abend with Eric Cornut, formerly chief of ethics and compliance at Swiss pharma giant Novartis AG. It suggested three other board candidates whom shareholders can vote on at the annual meeting on Aug. 26.

"The complete renewal of shareholder representatives on Stada's supervisory board is an important step to develop the company in the long term," Active Ownership Capital said.

The move marks the most prominent and intense proxy fight in the recent history of corporate Germany, which for a long time hasn't been targeted by U.S.-style activist investors that rattle corporate cages.

Bankers and investors privately have said outright shareholder criticism could become more common in Germany, where management boards have long been insulated from stockholder agitation by dual-board structures.

Active Ownership Capital co-founder Klaus Rö hrig told The Wall Street Journal earlier this month he was optimistic that his push would harness sufficient support from other Stada investors.

The fund on Monday said it holds more than 5% in Stada's shares.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 25, 2016 15:55 ET (19:55 GMT)

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