Billionaire investor Carl C. Icahn disclosed yesterday that he had threatened to nominate a slate of opposing directors to MedImmune's board unless the company put itself up for sale, adding in an interview that the firm suffered from "very lackluster management."Icahn's first public comments about MedImmune helped shed light on why the board of the Gaithersburg company abruptly switched course last week, authorizing its management to explore a sale after dismissing the idea at least twice before. A dissident investor with a smaller stake had begun publicly pressuring for a sale in December.
Icahn, who disclosed a 1.16 percent stake in Med Immune in February, said he told MedImmune four or five weeks ago that he had his own slate of directors ready to nominate, meaning he was preparing a proxy fight against the biotech firm. In an interview, he said, "Shareholder value would be highly enhanced if the company was sold because of the very lackluster management that has pervaded the company for the last five years."
His comments appeared to be aimed at MedImmune chief executive David M. Mott, who took over from founder Wayne T. Hockmeyer in October 2000.
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