What does a drug company do to avoid a takeover? Initiate a poison pill.
That’s exactly what Botox-maker Allergan did late Tuesday night to slow down Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital and Valeant Pharmaceuticals $47 billion unsolicited offer for the company.
Allergan said that its board of directors had adopted a one-year stockholder rights plan to give it more time to consider takeover proposals.
If any unapproved investor acquires 10 percent or more of Allergan’s stock, other stockholders will have the right to buy discounted shares, the Allergan board said.
“We are disappointed but on the other hand, I think this deal will get done,” Valeant CEO Michael Pearson said on Wednesday.