Unlike the dramatic and acrimonious activist shareholder battles at other drugmakers, Endo Pharmaceuticals
Today, Endo released financial results for its first quarter under new leadership, and influences of the uprising by Endo's largest shareholder, D. E. Shaw Group (which owns just less than 10% of shares outstanding), are apparent all over the company.
As recently as late February, D.E. Shaw was calling on Endo to take on hefty debt and buy back shares. The agitator and its allies got their way earlier this month (after ushering in a new Endo CEO in March), although Endo agreed to repurchase no more than half of D.E. Shaw's suggested $1.5 billion worth of shares.
Resulting solely from these buybacks, rather than any changes in its revenue prospects, Endo raised its financial guidance by $0.12 per share on both ends; it now projects earnings per share of $2.15 to $2.19 for 2008. D.E. Shaw also got to choose a member for Endo's board of directors, and it picked a former executive of MGI Pharmaceuticals, recently acquired by Japanese drugmaker Eisai.
This news seems likely to set Wall Street buzzing about Endo buyout rumors. If that gossip somehow proves true, Endo won't be the first acquirer-in-waiting to find itself bought out, following Takeda's Millennium Pharmaceuticals
Amid all the hubbub, Endo's financial results seem to have taken a back seat to the other changes at the company. In Q1, Endo's sales gained 14% year over year, while adjusted net income rose more than 9%.
While D.E. Shaw's more active role with Endo won't shake patent fears surrounding some of Endo's top drugs, here's hoping that the group's efforts create more value than similar upstarts have at other drugmakers like Nabi Biopharmaceuticals
