Hedge fund manager P. Schoenfeld Asset Management (PSAM) announced that it will be voting in favor of the slate of board of directors for Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN) that has been nominated by activist hedge funds Icahn Associates and Eastbourne Capital Management.
PSAM’s founder Peter Schoenfeld told the Dow Jones Newswires last week that “We would like to see the largest minority possible elected to the Amylin board.” He is frustrated with the pharmaceutical company’s cash flow management and the insufficient marketing efforts it has put behind its diabetes drug, Byetta. He also believes that new leadership is needed on the board in order for the company to right the ship and increase shareholder value.
P. Schoenfeld currently holds 2,114,327 shares of Amylin, while Eastbourne and Icahn Associates hold 17,200,000 shares and 12,971,328 shares, respectively. Combined, the three hedge funds control just under 23% of Amylin’s total shares outstanding.
As reported on Tuesday of last week, Schoenfeld is also pushing for board and corporate governance changes at Saks Inc (SKS). Neither Icahn nor Eastbourne reported holding any shares of Saks in the 3/31/09 portfolios that they filed with the SEC. |
