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Allergan asks stockholders not to act on Pershing Square proposal

July 11, 2014 at 05:46 pm EDT

(Reuters) - Allergan Inc advised its stockholders to refrain from taking any action in response to Pershing Square Capital Management's proposal to replace a majority of the botox maker's board.

William Ackman's Pershing Square has been pushing for a special meeting of Allergan shareholders to consider the removal of six directors and the appointment of its slate of nominees.

"We believe Pershing Square's attempt to replace a majority of the Allergan Board is a further effort to support Valeant in its bid to acquire Allergan at a grossly inadequate price," Allergan said on Friday.

The company has been trying to fight off a $53 billion hostile offer from Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc and activist investor William Ackman since late April.

Allergan is expected to unveil details of its plan to remain a stand-alone company when it releases second-quarter results this month.

The company has said it is considering acquisitions of its own, additional spending cuts or taking on debt to buy back shares.

(Reporting By Anjali Rao Koppala; Editing by Joyjeet Das)

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William Ackman

William (Bill) Ackman is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, an American hedge fund that holds shares in Wendy’s International and McDonald’s Corporation. As well it has interest in Target Corp., the second largest discount company in US.

Graduated at Harvard College, he holds also an MBA from Harvard Business School. He began his career working for his father in the real estate, and in 1993 he founded Gotham Partners Management Co. This investment company encounters some troubles including legal problems that will lead to its dissolution in 2003.

In 2004, William Ackman comes back on the financial stage. He has created Pershing Square Capital, and he showed a lot of activism buying massive share in the lowest price for resale in two years maximum. A short-term strategy often criticized by the US Medias. His different attacks against FSA, American division of Dexia, and also against MBIA and Ambac, that it forecast the collapse, earned him a strong enmity in financial world.

In 2007, William Ackman took a share up to 5 millions of dollar (3,5%) in Sears Holdings, third group in distribution sector in US, behind Wal-Mart and Home Depot.

Pershing Square Capital Management manages approximately 2.4 billion of dollar of which 40% was invested in shares of McDonald.

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