[1/2] The places of work of gene sequencing firm Illumina Inc are proven in San Diego, California January 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake
NEW YORK, Could 30 (Reuters) – Illumina Inc (ILMN.O) CEO Francis deSouza survived a problem to his board seat from activist investor Carl Icahn final week by securing greater than twice the shareholder votes than the quantity his challenger obtained, the corporate mentioned in a submitting on Tuesday.
Whereas the result of the vote was recognized, the tally had not been beforehand disclosed. It provides deSouza legitimacy to hold on after Icahn mustered sufficient shareholder help to oust Illumina's board chair John Thompson and set up certainly one of his board nominees, Andrew Teno.
Icahn tried to interchange each deSouza and Thompson on the board and mentioned he desires former Illumina CEO Jay Flatley to return to run the corporate. The corporate's share value misplaced 18.4% within the final 52 weeks.
A 12 months in the past deSouza was the corporate's high vote getter with 130,098,117 votes forged for him. This 12 months he obtained 93,110,014 votes, beating out solely Thompson and all three of Icahn's nominees.
Teno obtained 77,769,509 votes whereas Thompson obtained 45,091,516 votes. The 2 different Icahn nominees obtained the fewest votes.
Icahn criticized Illumina, together with deSouza and Thompson, for its $7.1 billion acquisition of most cancers take a look at maker Grail. Illumina accomplished the deal over the objections of U.S. and European antitrust regulators, who are actually making an attempt to power the corporate to unwind it.
Illumina misplaced $50 billion in market worth following the deal as buyers fret it might be compelled to divest Grail at a giant loss.
Illumina has mentioned it should broaden its board from 9 members to 11 and has interviewed chiefs of publicly traded corporations with healthcare expertise and chief monetary officers of publicly traded corporations with Wall Avenue expertise to affix. It can additionally elect a brand new board chair.
Activist buyers are more and more calling for high executives to get replaced, with Insightia knowledge exhibiting they pushed for the removing of personnel at 60 corporations final 12 months, a 46% soar from the 12 months earlier than and the very best quantity since 2017.
Some CEOs who had activists be a part of their board didn't keep within the place for lengthy. Unilever Plc CEO Alan Jope, for instance, introduced plans to depart three months after hedge fund Trian Fund Administration's Nelson Peltz joined the patron big's board final 12 months. Brian Niccol took the reins at Chipotle Mexican Grill in early 2018 after certainly one of Invoice Ackman's lieutenants at Pershing Sq. Capital Administration joined the board in late 2016.
Different CEOs have survived. Vicki Hollub stays Occidental Petroleum's (OXY.N) CEO after the corporate reduce a take care of Icahn over board seats in 2020 and after Icahn cashed out two years later.
(This story has been corrected to say deSouza beat three, not two of Icahn's nominees, in paragraph 4)
Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Modifying by David Gregorio
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