Icahn candidate gets on Biogen board

Biogen Idec says that, based on a preliminary count provided by its proxy solicitor, it appears the company's stockholders elected Robert  Pangia, William Young and Alexander Denner, to its board of directors.  Based on that count, results on the election of the fourth director were  too close to call. The company will rely on the tabulation of votes by  its independent inspector of elections, IVS Associates, before  announcing the remaining director to serve on the board.

Mr Denner was a nomination of activist billionaire investor Carl Icahn,  who owns around 9.4% of Biogen and has been angling to shake up the drug  companies board for some while (Marketletters passim). Mr Icahn, who  lost this year's proxy vote with the drug firm, also claims that another  nominee, Richard Mulligan,won a seat, hence Biogen's comments about vote  tabulation.

In addition, the preliminary count shows that stockholders supported  the Biogen Idec board's recommendations to institute majority voting in  uncontested elections, ratify the company's auditor and reject a  proposal to change the company's jurisdiction of incorporation to  North Dakota. It appears that stockholders also supported the Board's  recommendation to reject a proposal to amend the company's by laws to  set the size of the board at 13 members.