Bausch Health Companies Inc. has a timetable for being ready to divest its Bausch + Lomb business and new board members representing activist investor Carl Icahn who “align” with the plan.
Executives elaborated on their spin-out plan, saying preparations will be completed by the end of the third quarter, on 24 February when the Canadian firm released its 2020 full-year and fourth-quarter results. And when asked, they elaborated on Icahn’s acquisition of 27.8m shares, for a 7
'Absolute Alignment' With Icahn
Bausch Health, in a 24 February announcement, said it “entered into a director nomination and appointment agreement” with Icahn’s investment group to expand the board and add his representatives effective in mid-March and include those members in its slate of nominees for election for the board’s next term at its 2021 annual meeting on 27 April 27.
The Icahn group agreed to vote all its shares in favor of each of the firm’s board nominees, according to the announcement.
“We are delighted to welcome highly respected investor Carl Icahn and his team to join the board,” Papa said in response to an analyst’s question during the firm’s earnings briefing.
“There has been absolute alignment that, number one, there's a lot of upside or opportunities to unlock upside in our company, significant value upside. … I think that's been echoed by our discussions with Carl Icahn and his team. And also, that we are aligned that we believe the important question is how can we unlock this value by spinning out Bausch + Lomb
