Advisory firms back Biogen over Icahn
Two influential shareholder advisory firms recommended today that Biogen Idec Inc. shareholders reject billionaire investor Carl Icahn's effort to win several seats on the Cambridge biotechnology company's board at its annual meeting June 19.
Although the RiskMetrics Group found that Icahn's slate of three nominees have impressive credentials, the advisory firm concluded there was no compelling reason to oust Biogen Idec's own board members.
"Biogen appears to have outperformed its peers,'' the report said. "The industry analyst consensus is that Biogen has performed well from a strategic perspective."
In addition, RiskMetrics said it didn't see much evidence to support Icahn's complaints about Biogen Idec's unsuccessful efforts last year to sell the company. Icahn has suggested executives may have sabotaged the sales process by blocking prospective bidders from talking to Biogen Idec's partners before submitting a bid.
Glass Lewis & Co., another advisory firm, also said it found no compelling reason to vote against Biogen Idec's nominees, noting it has performed well and made a reasonable effort to consider outside bids for the company last year.
"In our opinion, the current board and executives have created substantial value for shareholders," Glass Lewis wrote.
A third shareholder advisory company, Proxy Governance Inc., plans to make its own recommendations later this week.
Most large institutional shareholders tend to follow the recommendations of either the company or shareholder advisory firms.
Icahn has nominated three people to sit on Biogen Idec's 12-person board. Since the company has staggered elections, only four seats are up for grabs. The votes are slated to be counted shortly after the annual meeting.
Biogen Idec shares were little changed in morning trading. Just before 11 a.m., shares were trading at $61.04, down 24 cents.
(By Todd Wallack, Globe staff)
