Activist investor Starboard Value takes $1 billion stake in Pfizer, sources say By Reuters

(Reuters) -Activist investor Starboard Value has taken a stake of about $1 billion in Pfizer (NYSE:) and wants the U.S. drug giant to make changes to turn its performance around, sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday.

Starboard has also approached Ian Read, a former Pfizer CEO, and Frank D’Amelio, who served as CFO until 2021, and both have expressed interest in helping the activist investor, the sources said.

Read served as CEO until Albert Bourla took the position in 2019. Bourla was instrumental in working with BioNTech (NASDAQ:) to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.

Pfizer declined to comment and Starboard did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Investors have punished the company as it navigates sharply lower sales for its COVID vaccines and drugs, a weaker-than-hoped launch of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine and disappointing clinical data for an obesity pill it was developing.

The company’s stock price has fallen to $28.58 on Friday from approximately $41.00 in 2019 when Bourla took over.

While the company was quick in developing the vaccine during the pandemic, its fortunes have faded since the world normalized.

Bourla has also invested significantly on acquisitions, spending some $70 billion since 2020. It bought Seagen for $43 billion, Biohaven for $13 billion, Arena for $6 billion, Global Blood Therapeutics (NASDAQ:) for $5 billion and Trillium for $2 billion.

Some investors have criticized the spree and expressed particular concern about GBT where its main sickle cell disease drug had to be pulled off the market and studies were discontinued because of adverse side effects.

The Wall Street Journal first reported news of Starboard’s stake.

The investment firm has previously pushed for changes at News Corp (NASDAQ:), Salesforce (NYSE:) and Match Group (NASDAQ:).