Pfizer: Starboard Value pushes for investigation of board

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (PFE) is butting heads with activist investor Starboard Value, as Starboard demands an investigation into the actions of Pfizer’s board. Yahoo Finance Senior Health Reporter Anjalee Khemlani details the situation, tracing the timeline of Starboard Value’s involvement with Pfizer and exploring the factors that have led to the current tensions.

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This post was written by Angel Smith

Video Transcript

The clash between Pfizer and Starboard value heated up on Thursday when the activists investment firm insisted that the drug maker investigate actions by its board after two former executives backed out of its campaign against the company.

And joining us.

Now with more is Yahoo Finds is Angelique Kat to say that this is Pfizer’s Saga week is an understatement.

I know you guys have been following all week.

So let’s recap what’s been going on, right?

Because we know that on day, we got the news that Starboard value had amassed a 1 billion stake in Pfizer that’s actually second largest for the Fund for the Financial Times.

Now, what happened then is that we found out ex CEO and, and, and then X CFO who had already previously worked with, with the current Ceo Albert had been tapped to work with the with the company.

Now, rumors started to surface about what that all meant was Ceo Albert back on the chopping block.

He’s been there before.

There have been rumors ruling since late last year when investors were really not happy with the stock and where it was going or not going for that matter.

Meanwhile, we saw then the ex executives pull back on their stance, they switched side and said we’re out, we’re not supporting Starboard.

And then what we find out is that Starboard is claiming that they were in fact threatened to do so with the threat of legal action and compensation claw back.

Of course, you know, executives, one you leave, you have those stock options, um as well as rules against disparaging the company you’re with.

Story continues

So that’s where the saga has reached till now.

We also know some other information that’s, you know, kind of relevant.

I did mention of course, the former CFO has worked with uh Albero worked actually during the start of the pandemic together.

Meanwhile, Xeo Ian Reed was the one who tap or to reach this position.

We also know that all this boiled down to a potential email that CFO Frank Demilio sent accidentally to Albert Bourla over the weekend copying some board members as well as someone from Starboard and that was the very tip of the iceberg that tipped off the company.

Something was about to happen and that is reporting.

I just wanna give a, a hat tip and a shout out to end point news because they have been on top of this and that’s how we found out some of this really juicy information.

Um So now what happens, what happens now is that Albert Bru slated to meet with the company on Wednesday next Wednesday?

What is on the table.

Well, we don’t know just yet because we do know that Pfizer has made as many moves as is possible in the recent years since Albert took over, taking a look at some of the moves for cuts, cost cutting moves, spin offs of some of the important consumer generics, animal health units as well as $74 billion in a that 43 billions deal that is supposed to fill the pipeline for the big problem.

The problem Pfizer is facing is that it has a number of major products that are facing patent cliffs.

And so investors are worried that coming off of that great pandemic windfall when Pfizer saved the world, they don’t have anything to backfill those products.

And so that is the concern that Pfizer has to face and really at the crux of this issue that Pfizer is facing right now.

All right.

Thank you.