SkyePharma shareholders shoot down appointment of new director

By Angela McDaniels

Seattle, March 9 - SkyePharma plc shareholders rejected the appointment of Robert Thian as a director during an extraordinary general meeting held on Thursday, according to a company news release.

Institutional investors North Atlantic Value LLP, Insight Investment and Morley Fund Management, which together hold 15¼% of the company, called for the meeting on Jan. 20.

The syndicate of investors said it had been "forced" to call the meeting in order to appoint a board member who will address and reverse the "inexorable decline in shareholder value" at SkyePharma and rectify "a number of corporate governance issues at the company."

In terms of votes cast, 254.4 million votes, or 53%, were against the appointment of Thian and 225.8 million votes, or 47%, were for his appointment.

In terms of the number of shareholders voting, 880 shareholders, or 23%, voted for Thian's appointment and 2,984 shareholders, or 77%, voted against it.

"The extraordinary meeting is now behind us. We can now get on with running the business for the benefit of all shareholders," non-executive chairman Jerry Karabelas said in the release.

London-based SkyePharma develops pharmaceutical products that use drug delivery technologies to provide easier-to-use and more effective drug formulations.

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