Forest succeeds in Icahn battle
Forest Laboratories Inc. (NYSE:FRX) defeated a challenge from activist investor Carl Icahn Thursday as shareholders elected all 10 of Forest's proposed directors by a "significant margin" at the annual meeting, the company said, citing preliminary results. Icahn had nominated a slate of four directors for Forest's board. Forest said final results will be announced "promptly."
The newly elected slate replaces two of Forest's longest serving board members -- William Candee and George Cohan -- with three new independent nominees: Christopher Coughlin, former EVP and CFO of Tyco International Ltd. (NYSE:TYC); Gerald Lieberman, former president and COO of investment firm AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE:AB); and Brenton Saunders, CEO of Bausch + Lomb Inc. (Rochester, N.Y.). Seven incumbent directors were reelected, including Chairman, President and CEO Howard Solomon (see BioCentury, July 25). ...