Activist Investor Triumphs Again

Activist hedge fund investor Dan Loeb of Third Point LLC finally got his man at PDL BioPharma LLC PDLI (NASDAQ). Going back to March of this year, Loeb's fund began increasing its ownership share of the firm. Upon increasing his ownership share he began pressing initially for a sale of the company. When a potential sale failed to materialize, Loeb began pressing for the CEO, Mark McDade's head. Loeb, the largest shareholder in PDL BioPharma, pressed very hard for big changes.

According to an Associated Press article in today's Forbes,

Third Point blamed McDade for failing to close a potential deal with a large pharmaceutical company and for the company missing earnings and sales projections. Third Point has also alleged ethical breaches in the promotion process. Third Point attempted to elect four directors to PDL BioPharma's board, but the move was rejected. It called for the ouster of McDade after its choices for the board were denied.

Loeb over the last number of months continued to apply pressure. The company ultimately initiated an internal investigation into the alleged ethical breaches. Today the company announced,

"... that a three-month internal investigation of the company's chief executive officer (CEO), Mark McDade, found no credible evidence of improper personal conduct or breach of fiduciary duty by McDade to corroborate the various allegations investigated. The company also announced that McDade, following the investigation and due to the personal toll created by the unsubstantiated rumors and related investigation, has decided to step down as CEO and a member of the board by the end of 2007."

It is possible the company might go on the block again. Time will tell. Stay tuned.

For more on the change see:

Seeking Alpha (8/29/07) more info
San Francisco Chronicle
StreetInsider 13D Tracker
BizJournals
MSN Money