Takeda shareholder group proposal fails to pass at AGM

TOKYO: A group of Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd shareholders trying to build support to block the US$ 62 billion acquisition of London-listed Shire Plc ( SHP. L) failed to get a proposal passed at the drugmaker’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday.

The group had proposed requiring advance shareholder approval for large acquisitions. Takeda’s board has said such a requirement would damage the company’s competitiveness.

The group told Reuters earlier this month it did not expect its proposal to pass on Thursday. It also said it is working to persuade the third of shareholders needed to block another proposal for a later shareholder meeting that will function as a de facto vote on the Shire deal.

The percentage of votes in favor of the proposal on Thursday, which would provide indication of whether the group is building support, was still being calculated and will be announced within a week, a company spokesman said.

Proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services ( ISS) recommended voting against the proposal, saying that while its “proponents raise legitimate concerns about the planned acquisition of Shire” there was an “absence of apparent grounds to cast doubt over the board’s objectivity or competence”.

Shares at the drugmaker are down 19 percent at around 4,480 yen since it first said it was considering bidding for Shire at the end of March.

With uncertainty over whether the acquisition will be approved by shareholders and given concern over the size of the deal, “investors are taking a wait-and-see stance” toward Takeda stock, UBS analyst Atsushi Seki wrote in a note to clients last week.

In the note, UBS upgraded its recommendation on Takeda stock to “buy” from “neutral” and raised its price target to 6,700 yen. It also said a survey of 60 Japanese investors found 31 percent viewed the Shire deal negatively. — Reuters