AstraZeneca shareholders call for changes to management, strategy (Ref: Financial Times, TD Waterhouse, Fox Business)
April 9th, 2012
By: Lianne Dane
Some of AstraZeneca’s largest investors are lobbying to replace CEO David Brennan and other members of the board and executive team and usher in a new business strategy, The Financial Times reported Monday. The action comes as Leif Johansson seeks formal election as chairman at the annual general meeting later this month.
One investor noted that Brennan is likely to step down next year and suggested that "the board will probably step in and take a new strategic direction because the company is in a downward spiral." Another shareholder noted that "the chief executive is under intense pressure," adding that there had been some suggestions to replace him with global commercial vice-president Tony Zook or finance director Simon Lowth. However, the investor noted that Lowth lacks the breadth to take over. Bernstein Research analyst Jack Scannell noted that "you don’t need a lawyer or a marketing person. You either need Attila the Hun – a total butcher – to run it down until it can be bought, or a Paul Janssen-like figure: a successful scientist who can really take on the research team."
While Brennan has said that the company is reluctant to make even a mid-sized deal and will instead focus on acquisitions closer to about $1 billion, Bernstein Research has said that "our belief is that the status quo is not sustainable," adding that "desperate times may lead to outwardly appearing desperate actions." However, a large shareholder in the company said that new deals were "unthinkable" until a top tier management team had been brought in to develop a coherent and credible strategy for the group.
One investor noted that the group had to address the failure to deliver any return on investments in acquisitions, in-licensing and internal research and development over more than a decade. He called on the incoming chairman to bring in new management "which could change the group’s direction and address shareholders’ frustration at the long-running failures." However, a top 20 shareholder called on the company to sell itself, noting that "otherwise, the group is destined to be cheap forever."
April 9th, 2012
By: Lianne Dane
Some of AstraZeneca’s largest investors are lobbying to replace CEO David Brennan and other members of the board and executive team and usher in a new business strategy, The Financial Times reported Monday. The action comes as Leif Johansson seeks formal election as chairman at the annual general meeting later this month.
One investor noted that Brennan is likely to step down next year and suggested that "the board will probably step in and take a new strategic direction because the company is in a downward spiral." Another shareholder noted that "the chief executive is under intense pressure," adding that there had been some suggestions to replace him with global commercial vice-president Tony Zook or finance director Simon Lowth. However, the investor noted that Lowth lacks the breadth to take over. Bernstein Research analyst Jack Scannell noted that "you don’t need a lawyer or a marketing person. You either need Attila the Hun – a total butcher – to run it down until it can be bought, or a Paul Janssen-like figure: a successful scientist who can really take on the research team."
While Brennan has said that the company is reluctant to make even a mid-sized deal and will instead focus on acquisitions closer to about $1 billion, Bernstein Research has said that "our belief is that the status quo is not sustainable," adding that "desperate times may lead to outwardly appearing desperate actions." However, a large shareholder in the company said that new deals were "unthinkable" until a top tier management team had been brought in to develop a coherent and credible strategy for the group.
One investor noted that the group had to address the failure to deliver any return on investments in acquisitions, in-licensing and internal research and development over more than a decade. He called on the incoming chairman to bring in new management "which could change the group’s direction and address shareholders’ frustration at the long-running failures." However, a top 20 shareholder called on the company to sell itself, noting that "otherwise, the group is destined to be cheap forever."