Icahn blocks $36 per share ImClone buy

In a proxy statement, submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on October 3, the board of directors of New York-based oncology specialist ImClone Systems says that the efforts of billionaire financier Carl Icahn to remove "without cause" six of the firm's board are not in the best interests of the company's stockholders, a point of view arrived at by a majority vote.

Furthermore, the board added that if he is successful "Mr Icahn and a handful of directors who were selected by, and have ties to him, would constitute a majority of ImClone Systems' directors."

The statement added that this opinion is partially based on Mr Icahn's rejection, last month, of a $36.00 per share all-stock offer for the firm from a "major international pharmaceutical company," which was not identified. The board urges shareholders to reject Mr Icahn's proposal, adding that the directors who are under threat have "extensive experience and knowledge of the company and the biotechnology industry."