Allergan says Valeant Pharmaceuticals Internationaland and Pershing Square Capital Management want a judge in September to review demands that the maker of the Botox anti-wrinkle cream call a special shareholder meeting as part of Valeant’s $54 billion takeover bid.
Valeant and Pershing Square, a hedge fund run by Bill Ackman, are asking Delaware chancery judge Andre Bouchard to set a trial for September 24th on whether they properly secured support of enough Allergan stockholders to force a meeting of investors to consider replacing a majority of the company’s directors, according to court filings.
The sides have fought for months, trading allegations and lawsuits as California-based Allergan repeatedly rejected Valeant’s unsolicited buyout offers. Allergan executives have set the shareholder meeting for December 18th, and Valeant officials and Ackman want Bouchard to clear the way for it to be held almost three months earlier, court filings show.
The demand for an expedited hearing is “accompanied by no showing of urgent need” to speed up scheduling of the shareholder meeting, Allergan’s lawyers said today in court papers. Valeant and Ackman asked Bouchard to weigh whether they had complied with Allergan’s bylaws in lining up shareholder support for the meeting in a November trial.
Valeant, based in Laval, Quebec, wants Allergan to expand its portfolio and become one of the world’s largest drug makers. David Pyott, Allergan’s chief executive officer, has fought to keep the company independent, announcing a restructuring including cutting 1,500 jobs.
- Bloomberg
