Allergan Loses Battle To Make Shareholder Vote Moot On Valeant Pharmaceuticals Bid
August 22, 2014
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
On Aug. 22, California-based biopharmaceutical company Allergan Inc. was denied a request to expedite a civil suit that claimed Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and Pershing Square Capital Management were involved in insider trading prior to bidding on the company.
Specifically, Allergan is claiming that William Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management was involved in insider trading. Ackman is responsible for actively calling for the merger and acquired 9.7 percent of Allergan prior to Valeant bidding on the company.
Allergan has been attempting to get U.S. District Court Judge David Carter to rule on the matter within 120 days. The company would like to see Carter decide in favor of a delay in a federal court in Delaware on Valeant’s call for a shareholder vote. In turn, this would put Carter in a position to determine if there were any violations of security laws, preventing any shareholder vote on a takeover.
However, Carter has refused, and he stated in his ruling that he was “reluctant to create a precedent that allows corporations to demand at will the immediate attention and input of the federal courts in order to resolve intra-corporate disputes that might be better left to the dynamic free market or to the state court.”
Valeant was “pleased” with Carter’s ruling, which goes against Allergan’s wishes. However, Allergan prepared a statement that showed that it favored shareholders coming together and resolving the matter, as long as the door remained open to investigate potential security violations.
“Allergan is pleased that the Judge outlined a path during Wednesday’s hearing toward a prompt ruling on the merits of this case consistent with Allergan’s stated desire,” the company said in a statement. “The court’s comments at the hearing indicated that Allergan should be able to timely resolve this matter and ensure that all stockholders have the benefit of full information and an even playing field.”
Allergan, which is responsible for creating Botox, has been doing business for more than 60 years. Today, the company defines itself as a global, multi-specialty healthcare company with portfolios in eye care, neurosciences, medical dermatology, medical aesthetics and urologics.
Recently, Allergan acquired the LiRIS Program from TARIS Biomedical. The program is in Phase 2 clinical cevelopment for the localized treatment of interstitial cystitis, also known as Bladder Pain Syndrome.
