ICN Pharma rebels get three seats on board

A group of ICN Pharmaceuticals shareholders who have voiced theirdisquiet concerning the firm's restructuring plans, which include a partial public offering of a new R&D-based firm, Ribapharm (Marketletters passim), says that three of its representatives have been elected to the ICN board.

The ICN Committee to Maximize Shareholder Value said it appears that the initial tabulation indicates that its nominees were elected "by an overwhelming majority," receiving the votes of over 50% of ICN's outstanding shares. The group issued a statement saying that "we are, of course, gratified by this ringing endorsement from our fellow shareholders, which is a measure of the value shareholders place on having truly independent board members."

The statement added that the extent of the majority also delivers "a pointed message to ICN's board and management [which] needs to focus on the most crucial aspect of the restructuring plan it committed to in October," ie the complete separation of ICN, Ribapharm and ICN International by means of tax-free spin-offs. "Anything else is a distraction," it concludes. ICN said that the full results of the voting will not be known for another two weeks but if the dissenters win the seats, it will be seen as a blow to chief executive Milan Panic, who has been accused by the group of dragging his feet over carrying out the restructuring.