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☆ Pfizer CEO says he welcomes good ideas as Starboard ups pressure on company
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In a Tuesday interview with CNBC's Jim Cramer, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla struck a positive tone about activist investor Starboard Value, saying he agreed with some of its criticisms, but maintained that the company is headed in a good direction. But if Starboard, and anybody else for that matter, have good ideas, I will certainly discuss them and entertain." The pharmaceutical giant is under pressure from Starboard, which reportedly has a $1 billion stake in the company. But he praised Starboard's CEO Jeff Smith, saying he seemed "very smart" and "very pragmatic" at a recent meeting. Bourla also rebuked claims that his company was involved in dissuading past executives — former CEO Ian Read and former CFO Frank D'Amelio — from joining Starboard's efforts.

Persons: CNBC's Jim Cramer, Albert Bourla, Bourla, Jeff Smith, Ian Read, Frank D'Amelio — Organizations: Pfizer

Ian Read, chairman and chief executive officer of Pfizer Inc., gestures as he speaks during a panel session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017. Activist Starboard Value accused Pfizer of threatening litigation against the company's former CEO and CFO in order to get them to break ranks with the investor's nascent turnaround campaign at the pharmaceutical giant. Pfizer shares slipped overnight as news of the two executive's breakaway emerged, and opened down roughly 2.5% in Thursday morning trading. Starboard's Smith said that when the activist approached the two executives, both expressed "concerns" about Pfizer's direction under Bourla and offered to help Starboard in its turnaround campaign. Starboard's Smith and Bourla are slated to meet in person next week, Smith said, confirming earlier reports.

Persons: Ian Read, Pfizer, Jeff Smith, Frank D'Amelio's, Smith, Albert Bourla, Starboard's Smith Organizations: Pfizer Inc, Economic, Pfizer Locations: Davos, Switzerland

☆ Former Pfizer CEO, finance chief step back from Starboard's activist campaign
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Former Pfizer CEO Ian Read and ex-CFO Frank D'Amelio said Wednesday evening that they would step away from Starboard Value's campaign at the struggling pharmaceutical giant, just days after news of the activist's stake broke. Read and D'Amelio said they were "fully supportive" of Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla in a joint statement made via an investment bank and confirmed to be authentic. The duo had been in contact with a number of directors shortly before news of Starboard's stake broke Sunday evening, according to people familiar with the matter. For executives to join, and then walk away from an activist's campaign is highly unusual. It was also not immediately clear what impact, if any, the breakaway would have on Starboard's campaign.

Persons: Ian Read, Donald Trump, Frank D'Amelio, Read, D'Amelio, Albert Bourla, Jeff Smith, Bourla Organizations: Pfizer, White, Washington , D.C, Guggenheim Securities, dealmaking, CNBC, Autodesk, Wall Street, Corp Locations: Washington ,

☆ CNBC Daily Open: A dovish Fed is driving markets. Keep an eye out for roadblocks
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-10 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. Close to record close for NvidiaNvidia shares have rallied 25% in the last month and are currently trading at $132.11. Former Tata Sons chairman passes awayRatan Tata, the former chairman of the Indian conglomerate Tata Sons, passed away on Wednesday, aged 86. As chairman, Tata was instrumental in spearheading over 60 global acquisitions, helping to grow the group's revenue past $100 billion during his tenure.

Persons: Ian Read, Frank D'Amelio, D'Amelio, Ratan Tata, Tata Organizations: CNBC, Dow Jones, Technology, Nasdaq, Nvidia Nvidia, Nvidia, Microsoft, Mizuho, Pfizer, Guggenheim Securities, Former Tata, Tata Sons, IA Locations: Asia, Pacific, Hong Kong, OpenAI

☆ Activist Starboard Value has $1 billion Pfizer stake, taps former executives for help, sources say
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-07 | by ( Rohan Goswami | In Rohangoswamicnbc | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Activist investor Starboard Value has a roughly $1 billion stake in pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and is seeking to mount a turnaround at the struggling company, according to people familiar with the matter. Starboard believes that Pfizer's current leadership, under CEO Albert Bourla, has stepped away from historically disciplined cost structure and investment in novel drugs. One particularly concerning example to Starboard was Pfizer's acquisition of Global Blood Therapeutics. Pfizer pulled a drug for sickle cell disease it got just two years ago via the roughly $5 billion acquisition. Still, more than $100 billion in shareholder value has evaporated since the Covid-19 pandemic faded largely into the rearview mirror.

Persons: Ian Read, Frank D'Amelio, Albert Bourla, Oxbryta, Read, Jeff Smith, Angelica Peebles Organizations: Pfizer, Blood Therapeutics, Autodesk, Street

☆ Meet Jeff Smith, the hedge-fund investor taking on Pfizer
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-07 | by ( Alex Morrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Starboard Value has taken a $1 billion stake in drugmaker Pfizer. The hedge fund, headed by Jeff Smith, has become one of the most feared activist investors. AdvertisementPharmaceuticals giant Pfizer got a wake up call Sunday evening when one of Wall Street's most feared activist investors revealed a stake in the company. AdvertisementPfizer, with a market cap north of $160 billion, is among the largest companies Starboard's Smith has ever targeted. With less than a 10% stake Smith replaced the entire 12-person board and assumed the role of chairman.

Persons: Jeff Smith, —, Smith, Starboard's Smith, Ian Read, Frank D'Amelio, Ken Squire, Paul Singer, Elliott, Carl Icahn, Dan Loeb, Peter Feld, Olive Garden's, Marc Benioff, Brontë Wittpenn, Brontë, Squire, they're, Albert Bourla, Bourla, wagered Organizations: Pfizer, Service, Pharmaceuticals, 13D, Investor, Lazard, Elliott Management, Icahn Enterprises, Cowen Group, AOL, Darden Restaurants, Olive Garden, Longhorn, Darden, Wall, San Francisco, Getty, Smithfield Foods, Bristol, Myers Squibb, Celgene, Autodesk, Starbucks Locations: Olive Garden, Fortune, America, Olive, Washington

☆ Activist Elliott makes inroads at Catalent to build value. Here’s what could happen next
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

This segment also handles the formulation, development and manufacturing for parenteral dose forms, including vials and prefilled syringes. Activist Commentary: Elliott is a very successful and astute activist investor, particularly in the technology sector. While as an activist Elliott will do whatever it feels is necessary to enhance shareholder value, in the past the firm has made significant use of the strategy of offering to acquire its portfolio companies as the best catalyst to enhance shareholder value. Like Catalent, Syneos is an outsourced pharma solutions company: It outsources R&D for pharmaceutical companies, whereas Catalent outsources manufacturing. If this does turn from a strategic review to an operational review, there is no guarantee that he keeps his job.

Persons: Catalent, there's, Elliott, Steven Barg, Frank D'Amelio, Stephanie Okey, Michelle Ryan, Johnson, Barg, Ryan, John Greisch, There's, Danaher, Alessandro Maselli, Ken Squire Organizations: Oral Technologies, Clinical, Pfizer, Rom Holdings, Bloomberg, Merck, Citrix Systems, Nielsen Holdings, Square, Veritas Capital, Syneos Health, 13D Locations: COOs, North America

A general view of the drug product manufacturing laboratory in biologics and sterile injectables, Catalent, in Brussels, Belgium June 27, 2023. Catalent named three pharma industry executives and a senior Elliott executive to its board and said John Greisch, who has served on the board since 2018, will become executive chairman. Elliott, whose stake in Catalent became public last month, has been engaging with the company behind the scenes for months. Two of the directors were picked by Elliott, while two were mutually agreed by Elliott and Catalent. Catalent is also forming a new strategic and operational review committee which Greisch will chair.

Persons: Yves Herman, Elliott, Catalent, Alessandro Maselli, John Greisch, Max, William Blair, Maselli, Steven Barg, Goldman Sachs, Frank D'Amelio, Stephanie Okey, Michelle Ryan, Greisch, Merck KGaA, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Maggie Fick, Sriparna Roy, Shinjini Ganguli, Catherine Evans, Mike Harrison Organizations: REUTERS, Catalent Inc, Elliott Investment Management, Reuters, Novo, pharma, U.S . Food, Drug Administration, Pfizer, Johnson, Catalent, Svea, Thomson Locations: Brussels, Belgium, ., Danish, Novo, United States, Catalent, GLP, Boston, London, Bengaluru

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