** BioMarin BMRN.O reached a settlement with activist
investor Elliott Investment Management on Wednesday, agreeing to
add three independent directors to its board and form a
committee to review operations
** Reuters reported in Nov that Elliott had built a stake in
BioMarin and had been in discussions with the company for months
about its future as a slow launch of its gene therapy led to a
slump in its share price
A WELCOME STEP
** Guggenheim ("buy," PT: $105) says "multi-yr investor
frustration likely being addressed"
** Citi ("neutral / high risk," PT: $85) believes the review
will focus on cost/resource rationalization as well as
potentially examining other challenges the company faces with
respect to recent product launches
** Citi notes that all three new board members have prior
M&A experience
** Stifel ("buy," PT: $101) says the review could represent
"a welcome step towards more disciplined spending, along with
things like profitability/margin targets"
** Stifel says "BMRN will likely be perceived as a plausible
M&A target" but adds that it is waiting to understand the vision
of co's newly appointed CEO
(Reporting by Puyaan Singh)
((Puyaan.Singh@thomsonreuters.com;))