RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Activist investor Elliott Management Corp. is raising the pressure on GlaxoSmithKline CEO Emma Walmsley.
In a letter to the drug giant, Elliottt didn’t call for Walmsley’s ouster as GSK prepares to split the company.
“We believe that existing management should remain in place until a decision is made regarding future leadership,” Elliott said in a published letter.
However in its first comments since the hedge fund acquired a stake in the firm earlier this year it did cite GSK leadership as having “a poor record of operational execution and value creation, leading to skepticism about the company’s future and an under-appreciation of its true potential,” according to Bloomberg.
The letter came a week after Walmsley spelled out plans for a “new GSK.”
CEO explains her vision for a ‘new GSK’ + watch the 3-minute video
The investment firm did call for “deep biopharma and consumer health expertise,” Bloomberg noted, appearing “to point to [Walmsley’s] non-scientific background.
Elliott also called for GSK to sell rather than spin off its consumer health business.
GSK said Elliott was raising “legacy issues,” according to Reuters.
The company’s “ambitious” plan was set out to realise significant value over the next decade, a spokesperson told Reuters.
“We believe our shareholders are supportive of this strategy, and that they are focused on GSK executing on it without distraction or delay. This is our clear priority.”
GSK maintains a significant presence in RTP and operates a manufacturing plant in Zebulon.
Read the Bloomberg report here:
And the Reuters report here:
