May 20, 2014
Allergan Continues to Break the Mold: Nonbinding Shareholder Vote Before Vote
As I blogged last month, William Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital has teamed up with Valeant to make a hostile bid for Allergan as part of a new paradigm of a hedgie and corporate teaming up. Allergan has formally rejected any overtures so far.
Last week, Pershing Square Capital filed this preliminary proxy statement so that Allergan shareholders could attend a “meeting” of sorts (in person or by proxy) solely to cast a non-binding vote on whether Allergan should negotiate with Valeant on a deal. This straw poll is another novelty of this deal. Here’s some articles about this tactic:
– Reuter’s “No downside in Allergan ‘meeting'”
– The Activist Investor’s “A Shareholder ‘Get Together'”
– WSJ’s “Pershing Square Wants Allergan Holders to Push for Merger Talks”