Reuters – A hedge fund that is working to scuttle a proposed acquisition of Chiron Corp. (CHIR.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Wednesday threatened totry and remove the biotech company’s top executive if he campaigns for the deal to go through.
In a sharply worded letter, ValueAct Capital told Chiron’s independent board members and Chief Executive Officer Howard Pien that the $3 billion hedge fund would lose confidence in management if it defended Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG’s (NOVN.VX: Quote, Profile, Research) plans to buy the 56 percent of Chiron that it does not yet own.
If Howard Pien agrees to solicit votes for the deal, “he will have lost the confidence of shareholders and must replaced if Chiron is not sold to Novartis,” ValueAct partner Mason Morfit wrote.
ValueAct, Chiron’s second largest shareholder outside of Novartis with 9.8 million shares, has publicly criticized Novartis’ plan to buy Chiron for $45 per share, calling the deal unfair and accusing the Swiss company of having used insider information to attack when Chiron was weak.
